In the News
The FDA has granted approval to daratumumab (Darzalex) for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma who have received ≥1 previous therapies, in combination with dexamethasone and either lenalidomide or bortezomib.
The US Food and Drug Administration has granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda injection) for use in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma whose disease progressed after platinum-containing chemotherapy. The injection is recommended to be administered at 200 mg intravenously for 30 minutes every 3 weeks.
Daclizumab (Zinbryta) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. The drug is self-administered by the patient monthly, and comes in the form of a long-acting injection.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Netspot, the first kit for preparation of gallium Ga 68 dotatate injection, for the detection of neuroendocrine tumors in adult and pediatric patients. The injection serves as a radioactive diagnostic agent for positron emission tomography imaging.
The first blood test for detecting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations in patients with non−small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. The cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2 is a blood-based diagnostic that aids in selecting patients with NSCLC who may benefit from treatment with erlotinib (Tarceva).
Atezolizumab injection (Tecentriq) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma with disease progression after or ≤12 months of receiving platinum-containing chemotherapy. The recommended dosage of the drug, which is programmed death-ligand 1 blocking antibody, is 1200 mg administered intravenously every 3 weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved nivolumab (Opdivo) for patients with classical Hodgkin Lymphoma that has progressed or relapsed following autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and post-transplant brentuximab vedotin, according to an announcement by the agency. Notably, the intravenous drug was granted accelerated approval, and Breakthrough Therapy Designation.
Lenvatinib capsules (Lenvima) have been approved in combination with everolimus in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma who have had 1 previous anti-angiogenic therapy, according to an announcement by the US Food and Drug Administration. The combination has demonstrated greater progression-free and overall survival rates, compared with lenvatinib monotherapy.
Venetoclax (Venclexta) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for daily use in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who have 17p deletion, and had ≥1 prior therapies, according to an announcement by the agency. This drug is the first treatment that targets the B-cell lymphoma 2 protein, which is overexpressed in many patients with CLL.
Defibrotide sodium (Defitelio) is now US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved for children and adult patients with hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) with added kidney or lung abnormalities following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). This drug is the first to be approved for patients with severe hepatic VOD.
