FDA Approvals, News & Updates
On April 12, 2019, the FDA accelerated the approval of erdafitinib (Balversa; Janssen), a fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of adults with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma and FGFR3 or FGFR2 genetic alterations, as detected by an FDA-approved test, whose disease progressed during or after ≥1 lines of platinum-containing chemotherapy, making it the first targeted drug to receive approval for this patient population. Read More ›
On April 19, 2019, the FDA accelerated the approval of pembrolizumab (Keytruda; Merck) plus axitinib (Inlyta; Pfizer) for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal-cell carcinoma (RCC). Keytruda has received previous FDA approval as a single agent or in combination with other agents for the treatment of many types of cancers. Read More ›
On April 19, 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a combination of pembrolizumab (Keytruda; Merck) plus axitinib (Inlyta; Pfizer) for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal-cell carcinoma (RCC), making it the first immunotherapy combination regimen approved for patients with this disease. Read More ›
In This Article:
- Another Approval for Keytruda and An Easing of Pregnancy Restrictions for Women Taking Soltamox
- FDA Advises Women to Avoid Pregnancy for Only 2 Months After Final Dose of Soltamox
On February 22, 2019, the FDA approved a new indication for trifluridine plus tipiracil (Lonsurf; Taiho Pharmaceuticals), an oral combination of a nucleoside metabolic inhibitor and a thymidine phosphorylase inhibitor for the treatment of patients with metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma who received ≥2 lines of chemotherapy regimens with a fluoropyrimidine, a platinum, a taxane or irinotecan, and, if appropriate, HER2/neu-targeted therapy. Read More ›
On February 28, 2019, the FDA approved a combination of the HER2/neu receptor agonist trastuzumab plus the endoglycosidase hyaluronidase-oysk (Herceptin Hylecta; Genentech) subcutaneous (SC) injection for adults with HER2-overexpressing breast cancer in the adjuvant setting, as part of a regimen with chemotherapy or as monotherapy after multimodality anthracycline-based therapy; and as first-line treatment for metastatic disease, in combination with paclitaxel, or as monotherapy after ≥1 chemotherapies in the metastatic setting. Read More ›
On March 1, 2019, the FDA accelerated the approval of atezolizumab (Tecentriq; Genentech) plus nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane; Celgene) for the treatment of patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and PD-L1 expression, as identified by an FDA-approved test. Tecentriq was previously approved for bladder cancer and for non–small-cell lung cancer. This is the first FDA approval of an immunotherapy for patients with metastatic TNBC. Read More ›
On April 4, 2019, the FDA approved a new indication for palbociclib (Ibrance; Pfizer), an oral kinase inhibitor, for men with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Read More ›
On March 11, 2019, the FDA approved trastuzumab-qyyp (Trazimera; Pfizer) as the fourth biosimilar to trastuzumab (Herceptin; Genentech) for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer or HER2-positive metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. This approval was based on several studies confirming that trastuzumab-qyyp is biosimilar to the originator drug, Herceptin. Read More ›
On January 31, 2019, the FDA approved the combination of pemetrexed (Alimta; Eli Lilly) plus pembrolizumab (Keytruda; Merck) and platinum-based chemotherapy for first-line treatment of patients with metastatic nonsquamous non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with no EGFR or ALK mutations. Read More ›