Roche has announced that an injectable form of its PD-L1 inhibitor Tecentriq (atezolizumab) has been recommended by the European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee for multiple cancer types. The subcutaneous (SC) formulation of Tecentriq can cut treatment time by approximately 80%, the company said, with most injections taking between four to eight minutes compared with 30 to 60 minutes for an intravenous (IV) infusion. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has specifically recommended that Tecentriq SC be authorised for use in all indications in which the drug’s IV form has previously been approved, including certain types of lung, liver, bladder and breast cancer. The committee’s decision will now be reviewed by the European Commission and, if approved, Tecentriq SC will be the first injectable PD-L1 cancer immunotherapy in the EU. Levi Garraway, Roche’s chief medical officer and head of global product development, said: “Tecentriq has helped to ...
Researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the University of Southern Carolina’s Keck School of Medicine in the US have identified new genetic variants that link to men with African ancestry’s risk of developing prostate cancer. Results from the study could help explain why men of African descent have a greater risk of developing the condition. Published in Nature Genetics, researchers compiled DNA from over 944,000 men of European, African, Asian and Hispanic ancestry – over 150,000 of whom had prostate cancer. Approximately 19,391 of the samples were from men with prostate cancer of African ancestry, offering insight into why they are twice as likely to develop the condition compared to white European men. As a whole, researchers identified 187 new genetic variants linked to men’s risk of developing prostate cancer. Across the UK, more than 52,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year. The condition affects ...
Pharmaceutical Executive Editorial Staff Repotrectinib (Augtyro) is a next-generation, potential best-in-class tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved to treat locally advanced or metastatic ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer. The FDA has approved Bristol Myers Squibb’s repotrectinib (Augtyro) to treat locally advanced or metastatic ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).1 Repotrectinib is a next-generation, potential best-in-class tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that targets ROS1- or NTRK-positive locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors. The drug was designed to improve the durability of response and with favorable properties that improve intracranial activity. “While progress has been made in the treatment of NSCLC over the past decade, there is still a need to address this particularly difficult-to-treat form of the disease with innovative science and a targeted approach,” Samit Hirawat, MD, executive vice president, chief medical officer, Global Drug Development, Bristol Myers Squibb, said in a press release.1 “As the only approved next-generation TKI for ROS1 positive ...
Merck & Co – known as MSD outside the US and Canada – has announced that the European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee has recommended its Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in combination with chemotherapy to treat biliary tract cancer (BTC). The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has specifically recommended that the anti-PD-1 therapy be used alongside gemcitabine and cisplatin for the first-line treatment of adults with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic BTC. BTC is a group of rare and highly aggressive cancers in the liver, gallbladder and bile ducts. Approximately 211,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year globally and about 70% of BTC patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, at which point the prognosis is poor. The CHMP’s positive opinion was supported by results from the late-stage KEYNOTE-966 trial, in which the Keytruda/chemotherapy combination demonstrated a significant overall survival benefit in these patients versus chemotherapy alone. ...
Takeda’s Fruzaqla (fruquintinib) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in certain patients with previously-treated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Fruzaqla, which inhibits all three VEGF receptor kinases, has been specifically authorised for use in adults with mCRC who have been previously treated with chemotherapy, an anti-VEGF therapy, and in some cases, an anti-EGFR therapy. The FDA’s decision makes Fruzaqla the first targeted treatment options approved in the US for metastatic CRC regardless of biomarker status or prior therapies in more than a decade and was supported by results from the late-stage FRESCO and FRESCO-2 trials, which evaluated Fruzaqla plus best supportive care versus placebo plus best supportive care in previously-treated mCRC patients. Both trials met their primary and key secondary efficacy endpoints and showed consistent benefit among a total of 734 patients treated with Fruzaqla, Takeda said, adding that the drug demonstrated a “manageable ...
The FDA on Wednesday approved Takeda’s fruquintinib for previously treated adults patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. The oral targeted therapy of the VEGF-1, -2 and -3 receptors will carry the brand name Fruzaqla. Fruzaqla’s label covers patients who had received prior lines of treatment with fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin and irinotecan chemotherapy, as well as an anti-VEGF agent. In wild-type RAS metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), and if medically appropriate, the therapy is also indicated for patients who had previously received anti-EGFR treatment. Wednesday’s approval comes more than 20 days before its scheduled target action date and makes Fruzaqla the “first and only selective inhibitor of all three VEGF receptor kinases approved in the U.S. for previously treated mCRC regardless of biomarker status,” according to Takeda’s announcement. “Fruzaqla is the first novel chemotherapy-free treatment option approved for patients in the U.S. regardless of biomarker status in more than a decade,” Teresa Bitetti, president ...
FDA restricts use of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) combination in the treatment of gastric cancer to patients with certain tumor types. The FDA has amended the currently approved indication for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus trastuzumab (Herceptin), fluoropyrimidine, and platinum-containing chemotherapy in the treatment of gastric cancer. The agency’s updated indication remains under accelerated approval regulations, but restricts the use of Keytruda to patients whose tumors express PD-L1 with a combined positive score (CPS) of one or more as determined by an FDA-approved test for the treatment of locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma. The FDA also approved the Agilent PD-L1 immunohistochemistry 22C3 pharmDx companion diagnostic device to help identify patients with gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma whose tumors express PD-L1. Keytruda is an anti-PD-1 therapy that has been found to increase the immune system’s ability to detect and fight tumor cells. The humanized monoclonal antibody inhibits the interaction ...
Candel Therapeutics has announced positive results from a mid-stage trial of its viral immunotherapy candidate in non-metastatic pancreatic cancer. The ongoing phase 2 trial has been evaluating the candidate CAN-2409 plus valacyclovir together with standard of care (SoC) chemo-radiation followed by resection in patients with borderline resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Interim results demonstrated an estimated survival rate of 71.4% at months 24 and 36 months in patients who received the CAN-2409 regimen prior to surgery, compared to 16.7% in those receiving SoC chemo-radiation alone. Five out of seven patients who received CAN-2409 were still alive at the time of the data cut-off, with two patients surviving more than 45 months from enrolment, while only one patient randomised to control SoC chemotherapy remained alive at the data cut-off. A “consistent and robust activation of immune response” was also observed after dosing with CAN-2409, the company said, and that the candidate ...
Merck & Co – known as MSD outside the US and Canada – has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its anti-PD-1 therapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in combination with chemotherapy to treat biliary tract cancer (BTC). The approval, which represents the sixth gastrointestinal cancer indication for Keytruda-based regimens in the US, means Keytruda can now be used alongside gemcitabine and cisplatin to treat patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic BTC. BTC is a group of rare and highly aggressive cancers in the liver, gallbladder and bile ducts. Approximately 20,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year in the US and about 70% of BTC patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage. The FDA’s approval was supported by results from the late-stage KEYNOTE-966 trial, which demonstrated a significant overall survival benefit in these patients versus chemotherapy alone. The results showed that the Keytruda regimen reduced ...
After AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi last year claimed new territory in the biliary tract cancer space, Merck’s Keytruda has hit the scene with an FDA nod to match its rival. The approval in locally advanced unresectable or metastatic biliary tract cancer, combined with the chemotherapies gemcitabine and cisplatin, marks Keytruda’s sixth U.S. nod in gastrointestinal cancer, Merck said. The FDA based the approval on data from the company’s Phase 3 KEYNOTE-966 trial, which showed that the Keytruda-chemo combo extended patients’ survival time compared with chemotherapy alone. In the study, patients in the treatment arm lived a median 12.7 months, compared to 10.9 months for those on solo chemo. The Keytruda-chemo combo reduced the risk of death by 17% over solo chemotherapy, researchers found. In addition, Keytruda-treated patients experienced a longer median duration of response at 9.7 months, compared with 6.9 months for solo chemotherapy. Merck is “proud” to offer the new treatment ...
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