By Angela Chen
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Eli Lilly
Co.'s Cyramza to treat non-small cell lung cancer, the most common
type of lung cancer.
This form of cancer occurs when cancer cells form in the tissues
of the lung. Cyramza, also known as ramucirumab, blocks the blood
supply that fuels tumor growth. It is intended for patients whose
tumors continued to grow after platinum-based chemotherapy, and
should be used in conjunction with docetaxel, another type of
chemotherapy.
Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly obtained Cyramza through its 2008
acquisition of ImClone Systems. Though the drug failed to meet
primary goals in a study investigating it as a secondary treatment
for liver cancer, it has been approved by the FDA to treat patients
with advanced stomach cancer.
"The commitment to study Cyramza in a variety of malignancies
provides important treatment options to patients," said Richard
Pazdur of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
The latest approval is based on a clinical study of over 1,200
patients with lung cancer. The patients were randomly assigned to
receive either Cyramza with docetaxel or a placebo with
docetaxel.
Half of those treated with Cyramza survived 10.5 months after
beginning treatment, compared with an average of 9.1 months for
half of the participants who received the placebo.
According to the National Cancer Institute, about 224,000
Americans will be diagnosed and 159,000 will die from lung cancer
in 2014.
Write to Angela Chen at angela.chen@dowjones.com
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