FDA Approves Lilly Liver Cancer Drug
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given another approval for a drug from Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY). The approval for Cyramza is for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer.
The approval is the fifth for Cyramza and the FDA has also removed the boxed warning from the drug’s labeling. The treatment, which is administered through an injection, is given to patients who have reached a particular biomarker and have been treated with another drug, sorafenib.
"This approval of CYRAMZA is an important step forward in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma," said Andrew Zhu, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and principal investigator of the REACH-2 trial, the results of which led to the approval. "While there have been some recent advances, there are still limited treatment options for people with this type of cancer and – until now – there was no treatment option specifically indicated for patients with increased alpha-fetoprotein concentrations. These patients can have more aggressive disease and a poorer prognosis with increased angiogenesis."
Lilly says HCC is the fourth-leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide. You can learn more about the approval by clicking here.