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Stephanie Feher (sfeher@pcipr.com )
Erin Duncomb (eduncomb@pcipr.com)
Public Communications Inc.
312-558-1770

EMBARGOED UNTIL FEBRUARY 17, 2006

AT A GLANCE - Transplant is a proven therapy that offers durable long-term survival without recurrence of CML for a substantial percentage of people with this serious disease, one of the most common types of leukemia. - For those alive and in remission 5 years after transplant, estimated 15-year survival is 87 percent. - The death rate for these patients approaches the normal population at 15 years after transplantation.

EMBARGOED UNTIL 12:01 A.M. FRIDAY, FEB. 17, 2006 (EST) [7:01 P.M. HST]

Large Study Documents High Long-term Survival Rate for Patients with Chronic Leukemia Who Receive Donor Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation

HONOLULU (February 17, 2006) – A total of 8,738 patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) transplanted with hematopoietic donor stem cells (called allogeneic transplant) between 1978 and 1998 were evaluated to determine their long-term (five to 20 years after transplantation) survival in comparison to the general population. According to the largest study of late transplant outcomes for CML ever performed, those patients alive in remission 5 years after transplantation enjoy relatively low rates of subsequent disease relapse and death. In fact, their mortality eventually approaches that of the general population. The data were presented here today on behalf of the Chronic Leukemia Committee of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) at the Blood and Marrow Transplantation (BMT) Tandem Meetings.

"Patients who live beyond the early transplant complications without relapse can expect to have very good long-term survival," said Douglas Rizzo, M.D. M.S., associate professor of medicine, division of neoplastic diseases and related disorders and associate scientific director, Center for Blood and Marrow Transplant Research, Medical College of Wisconsin.

"Our study shows that HCT is a proven therapy that offers durable long-term survival without recurrence of CML for a substantial percentage of people with this serious disease," he said.

Highlights of research presented at the BMT Tandem Meetings include:

• A total of 2,954 patients were alive and in continuing remission for five years or longer after HCT using donor (related or unrelated) hematopoietic stem cells.
• The estimated survival at 15 years after HCT for those alive and in remission at 5 years after the procedure is 87 percent.
• It is estimated that about 10 percent of five-year survivors experience late relapse of their CML by 15 years after HCT.
• The death rate for these patients approaches the normal population at 15 years after transplantation.

About Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT)
In leukemia patients, HCT is used to replace malignant blood cells after they are destroyed by treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. Hematopoietic stem cells, which give rise to the cells of the blood and immune system, originate in the bone marrow, but also circulate in the blood stream. In most cases, the cells used for transplant are harvested from the bone marrow of the donor and infused into the patient after treatment to destroy the diseased cells. The stem cells migrate to the bone marrow where they divide and give rise to new, healthy blood and immune system cells.

Dr. Rizzo's co-authors of the presentation at the BMT Tandem Meetings are J. Goldman, K.A. Sobocinski, M.J. Zhang, J.P. Klein, S.W. Ketelsen, S.A. Giralt, and M.M. Horowitz.

The BMT Tandem Meetings are the joint annual meetings of two leading professional organizations dedicated to research, education and patient care in the field of blood and marrow transplantation and cellular therapy. The Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR), based in Milwaukee, is an affiliation of the International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry (IBMTR) of the Medical College of Wisconsin and the research arm of the National Marrow Donor Program, which collects, analyses and disseminates clinical data on blood and marrow transplantation and conducts original research to determine the most effective BMT strategies. The American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, based in Arlington Heights, Ill., is a professional association of clinicians, investigators and other health personnel promoting blood and marrow transplantation research, education, scholarly publication and clinical standards. For more information on the BMT Tandem Meetings, visit www.asbmt.org/annualmeet.