Articles related to DEVICE/DRUG APPROVALS

Despite the pandemic interrupting trials and drug development in 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claims it is “full speed ahead” on the approval of novel cancer drug therapies. The authors of this Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) study wanted to verify these remarks, reviewing the FDA Hematology/Oncology Approvals website to ascertain all hematology/oncology drugs approved in 2020.

This new indication marks the second FDA approval for sacituzumab govitecan (Trodelvy, Immunomedics) and was based on the phase 2, single-arm TROPHY-U-01 main efficacy endpoints in objective response rate (ORR) and duration of response (DOR). With a relative 5-year survival rate of 5.5%, this is a significant advancement for patients with metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC), the most common type of bladder cancer.

The approval of the new cetuximab (Erbitux) dosage – 500 mg/m2 as a two-hour IV infusion every two weeks – was based on population pharmacokinetic (PK) modeling analyses and provides an alternative option to the previously approved weekly dose. Cetuximab can be dosed alone or in combination with chemotherapy.

From the pages of Oncology Times comes the latest approvals, designations, and new indications from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for oncology drugs. Stories include new approvals in multiple myeloma, esophageal or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), anaplastic lymphoma, and more.

The approval of the drug (Fotivda, Aveo Pharmaceuticals) was based on the results of the open-label, multi-center TIVO-3 trial, which looked at progression-free survival (PFS) as the main efficacy endpoint, assessed by a blinded independent radiology review committee. Secondary end points included overall survival (OS) and objective response rate (ORR).

More good news for zanubrutinib, which received accelerated approval in November 2019 in the US for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) in adult patients who have undergone at least one prior therapy. The supplemental new drug application (sNDA) was submitted by the drug’s manufacturer, BeiGene, based on data from the global phase III ASPEN trial.