Dec 30 – AstraZeneca and Merck’s ovarian cancer drug Lynparza has received U.S. regulatory approval for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer, cementing its lead in a niche category of cancer treatments. The drug is now the only approved medicine in biomarker-selected patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. “Metastatic pancreatic cancer patients have been waiting a long time for new therapy options for their devastating disease,” said Julie Fleshman, chief executive officer of Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Lynparza became the first marketed PARP drug with a U.S. approval for ovarian cancer in 2014 and is key to AstraZeneca’s push in oncology and sustaining the company’s turnaround. Other approved PARP inhibitors include GSK’s Zejula, Pfizer’s Talzenna and Clovis Oncology’s Rubraca, but Lynparza sales dwarf their numbers.

Source: National Post December 30, 2019 09:22 UTC