AstraZeneca's new tablet formulation of CALQUENCE® (acalabrutinib) has been approved in the US for all current indications, including adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) and for patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), which is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate. The approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was based on results from the ELEVATE-PLUS trials presented during the 63rdAmerican Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition in December 2021. In the trials, results showed the CALQUENCE capsule and tablet formulations are bioequivalent, indicating the same efficacy and safety profile can be expected with the same dosing strength and schedule.

The tablet can be taken with gastric acid-reducing agents, including proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), antacids and H2-receptor antagonists (H2RAs). The majority of observed adverse events (AEs) in these studies were mild with no new safety concerns identified.