A leukemia drug of Johnson & Johnson and AbbVie has been found significantly reducing the risk of death and disease compared with chemotherapy in patients with leukemia. The drug, Imbruvica, has paved the way for its extended version which could be more beneficial.

A report released by researchers on Sunday showed that the drug has been found decreasing the risk of death in a trial of 269 participants with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). All the study participants wereaged 65 and older. Imbruvica decreased death risk by about 85% compared with the chemotherapy chlorambucil, as per the report.

The report found that three people who were takingImbruvica died during the trial, while 17 people treated with chemotherapy lost their lives. Jan Burger, a doctor and lead investigator of the study, said, “If you move this drug into previously untreated patients, it looks even better than what we've seen before”.

The study published in theNew England Journal of Medicine will be presented at American Society of Hematology meeting in Orlando.

Currently, Imbruvica has been approved to treat people with CLL who had at least one prior therapy.Johnson & Johnson has presented study data to get approval as a treatment forslow progressing blood cancer.

Burger said the drug is clearly better thanchemotherapy. Now, the study data is seeking for approval,Burger added. The decision from United States health regulators may come in the first quarter of 2016.