drugsProductHistoric

Interferon alfa-2a/2b

Interferon alfa was the first biologic cancer drug (1986). It treated hairy cell leukaemia, CML, melanoma, kidney cancer and Kaposi sarcoma, and has been replaced almost everywhere by better-tolerated agents.

Approved 1986 for hairy cell leukaemia, then AIDS-KS (1988), CML (1990s), adjuvant melanoma (1995, high-dose; pegylated 2011) and follicular lymphoma. Flu-like symptoms, depression, fatigue and autoimmunity limited use; imatinib, checkpoint inhibitors and TKIs replaced it, and the non-pegylated products were discontinued (Intron A 2021, Roferon-A 2007). Interferon survives in MPN as ropeginterferon.

Schematic of the modality · Recombinant type I interferon (cytokine) · not a molecule; see the Cytokines & engineered cytokines page

Modality

Recombinant type I interferon (cytokine)

Mechanism

Signals through IFNAR to induce antiproliferative, pro-apoptotic and immunostimulatory interferon-stimulated genes.

Brand / code

Roferon-A / Intron A / Sylatron

Regulatory

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Approvals

Region	Year	Indication
US	1986	Hairy cell leukaemia
US	1988	AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma
US	1995	Adjuvant high-risk melanoma (high-dose)

Trials

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ClinicalTrials.gov · phase 2/3

refreshed 2026-09-09

272 studies0 recruiting61 Phase 241 Phase 3

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Interferon alfa-2a/2b

intervention: Interferon alfa-2a

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