On 14 May 2019, the FDA approved the combination of avelumab (Bavencio®, Merck KGaA/Pfizer) plus axitinib (Inlyta®, Pfizer) for the first-line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients.
On 19 April 2019, the FDA approved the programmed death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA®, Merck) plus axitinib – a selective and potent receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFR) 1, 2, and 3 – as a first-line treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients.
On 12 April 2019, the FDA granted accelerated approval to erdafitinib (Balversa®, Janssen) for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cell carcinoma (mUCC) progressed during or following a platinum-containing regimen, including progression within 12 months of (neo)adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy, and whose tumours harbour susceptible fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) 3 or FGFR2 genetic alterations as determined by the FDA approved companion diagnostic (CDx), the therascreen® FGFR RGQ RT-PCR Kit by Qiagen.
On 11 April 2019, the FDA approved single-agent pembrolizumab (Keytruda®, Merck) for the first-line treatment of stage III/IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with a PD-L1 Tumor Proportion Score (TPS) ≥1% who are not amenable to surgical resection or definitive chemoradiation and who have no known EGFR or ALK genomic aberrations.
On 18 March 2019, the FDA approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq®, Genentech) plus carboplatin and etoposide as front-line treatment of adult extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) patients.
On 8 March 2019, the FDA granted accelerated approval to atezolizumab (Tecentriq®, Genentech/Roche) in combination with albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) for the treatment of adult unresectable locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients with programmed death 1 ligand (PD-L1) stained tumour-infiltrating immune cells (IC) of any intensity covering ≥1% of the tumour area, as determined by the VENTANA PD-L1 (SP142) Assay companion diagnostic (CDx).
On 28 February 2019, the FDA approved the subcutaneous formulation trastuzumab/hyaluronidase-oysk (Herceptin Hylecta®, Genentech) for the treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)‑overexpressing breast cancer.
On 22 February 2019, the FDA approved the fixed combination tablets of the nucleoside metabolic inhibitor trifluridine plus the thymidine phosphorylase inhibitor tipiracil (Lonsurf®, Taiho Pharmaceutical) for the treatment of adult metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma patients pretreated with two or more prior lines of chemotherapy including a fluoropyrimidine, a platinum, and either a taxane or irinotecan plus (when appropriate) HER2/neu-targeted therapy.
On 15 February 2019, the FDA approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda®, Merck) for the adjuvant treatment of melanoma patients with lymph node involvement following complete resection.
On 18 January 2019, the FDA approved the Herceptin®-biosimilar Ontruzant® (trastuzumab-dttb, Samsung BioEpsis), a HER2/neu receptor antagonist, for patients with HER2-overexpressing (HER2+) breast cancer in the adjuvant and metastatic setting, and in metastatic HER2+ gastric cancer patients. Ontruzant® was approved as biosimilar, not as an interchangeable product.
On 14 January 2019, the FDA approved cabozantinib (Cabometyx®, Exelixis) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients previously treated with sorafenib.
On 19 December 2018, pembrolizumab (Keytruda®, Merck) received accelerated approval by the FDA for the treatment of recurrent locally advanced or metastatic (R/M) Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) in adult and paediatric patients.
On 20 December 2018, the FDA approved the asparagine specific enzyme calaspargase pegol-mknl (Asparlas®, Servier) as a component of multi-agent chemotherapeutic regimens for the treatment of paediatric and young adult patients aged 1 month to 21 years with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).
On 21 December 2018, the FDA approved the CD123-directed cytotoxin tagraxofusp-erzs (Elzonris™, Stemline Therapeutics), for the treatment of adult and paediatric patients of 2 years and older with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN).
On 19 December 2018, the FDA approved olaparib (Lynparza®, AstraZeneca) as a maintenance treatment for adult advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer patients who achieving a complete or partial response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy and who have deleterious germline or somatic BRCA-mutatations (gBRCAm or sBRCAm) by an FDA-aproved test or who are suspected to have deleterious BRCA-mutatations (BRCAm).
On 14 December 2018, the FDA approved the Herceptin®-biosimilar Herzuma® (trastuzumab-pkrb, Celltrion), a HER2/neu receptor antagonist, for patients with HER2-overexpressing (HER2+) breast cancer. Herzuma® was approved as biosimilar, not as an interchangeable product.
On 6 December 2018, the FDA approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq®, Roche/Genentech) plus bevacizumab and chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin for the frontline treatment of metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSq NSCLC) patients not harbouring any EGFR or ALK genomic tumour aberrations.
On 28 November 2018, the FDA approved gilteritinib (Xospata® [ASP2215], Astellas) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) harbouring FLT3 mutations as confirmed by an FDA-approved companion diagnostic test (CDx).
On 26 November 2018, the FDA granted accelerated approval to the first-in-class tropomyosin receptor-kinase (TRK) inhibitor larotrectinib (Vitrakvi®, Loxo Oncology/Bayer) for the treatment of adult and paediatric patients with solid tumours that are metastatic or not amenable to surgery, harbour the neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase (NTRK) gene fusion in the absence of known acquired resistance mutations, and whose cancer progressed following treatment or for whom are no satisfactory other treatment options available.
On 21 November 2018, the FDA granted accelerated approval to venetoclax (Venclexta®, AbbVie/Genentech) in combination with either azacitidine, or decitabine, or low-dose cytarabine (LDAC), for the treatment of newly-diagnosed acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients ≥75 years old or in patients with comorbidities precluding intensive induction chemotherapy.
On 21 November 2018, the FDA approved glasdegib (Daurismo®, Pfizer) in combination with low-dose cytarabine (LDAC), for the treatment of newly-diagnosed acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in patients of 75 years or older and in patients with comorbidities contraindicating intensive induction chemotherapy.
On 20 November 2018, the FDA approved the interferon-γ neutralising monoclonal antibody emapalumab (Gamifant®, Novimmune) for the treatment of adult and paediatric (newborn and older) patients with refractory, recurrent, or progressive primary haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) or in patients intolerant to conventional HLH therapy.
On 16 November, 2018, the FDA approved brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris®, Seattle Genetics) in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of previously untreated systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (sALCL) and other CD30-expressing peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL), including angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) and PTCL not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS).
On 9 November 2018, the FDA granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda®, Merck) for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) previously treated with sorafenib.
On November 2nd 2018, lorlatinib (LORBRENA®, Pfizer) received accelerated approval by the FDA for the second- and third-line treatment of patients with metastatic, anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Third-line patients should have had progression on crizotinib and another ALK-inhibitor for metastatic disease, and second-line patients should have had progression on either alectinib or ceritinib in the first-line for metastatic disease.
On October 30th 2018, the FDA approved the use of programmed death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda®, Merck) in combination with carboplatin plus paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
On October 16, 2018, the FDA approved PARP-inhibitor talazoparib (Talzenna®, Pfizer) for use in patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated locally advanced or metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer. Patients should be selected for the PARP inhibitor (PARPi)-treatment using an FDA-approved companion diagnostic (CDx) for talazoparib.
On September 28, 2018, the FDA approved programmed death 1 (PD-1) immune-checkpoint inhibitor cemiplimab-rwlc (Libtayo®, Regeneron) for use in patients with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) and patients with locally advanced CSCC unamenable for curative surgery or curative radiation.
On September 27, 2018, the FDA approved dacomitinib (Vizimpro®, Pfizer) as first-line treatment for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harbouring epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 deletions (ex19del) or exon 21 L858R mutations as confirmed by an FDA-approved test.
On September 24, 2018, the US FDA granted regular approval to duvelisib (Copiktra®, Verastem) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) after ≥2 prior therapies.
On September 24, 2018, the US FDA granted accelerated approval to duvelisib (Copiktra®, Verastem) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) follicular lymphoma (FL) after ≥2 prior therapies.
On September 13, 2018, the FDA approved moxetumomab pasudotox-tdfk (Lumoxiti®, AstraZeneca) for adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) hairy cell leukaemia (HCL) who had received at minimum two prior systemic therapies, of which one a purine nucleoside analogue (PNA).
On the 16th of August, 2018, the FDA updated the prescribing information for pembrolizumab (Keytruda®, Merck) and atezolizumab (Tecentriq®, Roche/Genentech) and added the requirement for the use of an FDA-approved companion diagnostic test (CDx) to determine PD-L1 levels in cisplatin-ineligible patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma.
On the 16th of August 2018, the FDA granted accelerated approval to nivolumab (Opdivo®, Bristol-Myers Squibb) for use in patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC) who progressed after two lines of therapy, including one line of platinum-based chemotherapy.
On 20th of August 2018, the FDA granted regular approval for pembrolizumab (Keytruda®, Merck) plus pemetrexed and a platinum salt in the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic, non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), not harbouring any EGFR or ALK genomic tumour aberrations.
On August 16, 2018 the FDA approved lenvatinib (Lenvima®, Eisai) for the first-line treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients not amenable for curative surgery.
On the 8th of August 2018, the FDA approved mogamulizumab-kpkc (Poteligeo®, Kyowa Kirin), a CC chemokine receptor type 4 (CCR4) directed monoclonal antibody, for use in adult patients with relapsed or refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).
On the 31st of July 2018, the FDA approved lusutrombopag (Mulpleta®, Shionogi) for thrombocytopenia in adult chronic liver disease (CLD) patients scheduled for an invasive medical or dental procedure.
On July 30, 2018, the FDA approved iobenguane I-131 (Azedra®, Progenics Pharmaceuticals), a radioactive therapeutic agent, for the treatment of adult and paediatric patients ≥12 years with iobenguane scan positive, locally advanced or metastatic pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma (PPGL) not amenable to surgery and indicated for systemic therapy.
On July 20, 2018, the US FDA approved ivosidenib (Tibsovo©, Agios Pharmaceuticals) for use in adult patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) harbouring a susceptible IDH1 mutation as detected by an FDA-approved companion diagnostic (CDx) test, the Abbott RealTime IDH1 Assay.
On July 20, the FDA approved filgrastim-aafi (Nivestym®, Pfizer), as a biosimilar to filgrastim (Neupogen, Amgen). The label includes all indications of the reference product.
On July 18, 2018, the US FDA expanded the ribociclib (Kysqali©, Novartis) approval. Ribociclib plus an aromatase inhibitor as initial endocrine-based therapy is no longer limited to postmenopausal HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer patients alone and now includes pre- and perimenopausal women. Furthermore, the FDA has added the combination ribociclib plus fulvestrant as initial endocrine-based therapy for postmenopausal women with HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer.
On July 13, the FDA approved enzalutamide (Xtandi©, Astellas), for use in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).
On July 10th, the FDA granted accelerated approval to ipilimumab (Yervoy©, Bristol-Myers Squibb) for use in combination with nivolumab (Opdivo©) for the treatment of adult and paediatric patients ≥12 years of age with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) that has progressed following treatment with a fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan.
On June 27th, the FDA approved Array Biomarpharma’s combination encorafenib (BRAFTOVI®) plus binimetinib (and MEKTOVI®) for patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma harbouring a BRAF V600E or V600K mutation detected by an FDA-approved test.
On June 19, the FDA limited the use of atezolizumab and pembrolizumab for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer patients ineligible for cisplatin-containing therapy.
On May 18, the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert about the decreased survival in studies with pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) and atezolizumab (Tecentriq®) as single agent first-line therapy for patients with metastatic urothelial cancer (mUCC) and low expression of the programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) protein.
The FDA granted regular approval to dabrafenib (Tafinlar®, Novartis) and trametinib (Mekinist®, Novartis) in combination for the adjuvant treatment of patients with melanoma with BRAF V600E or V600K mutations, as detected by an FDA-approved test, and involvement of lymph node(s), following complete resection.
edit+xClone Element
FDA approved osimertinib (Tagrisso, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP) for the 1st-line treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 deletions or exon 21 L858R mutations, as detected by an FDA-approved test.
The FDA granted approvals to nivolumab and ipilimumab (Opdivo and Yervoy, Bristol-Myers Squibb) in combination for the treatment of intermediate or poor risk, previously untreated advanced renal cell carcinoma.
On April 10, the FDA approved everolimus tablets for oral suspension (Afinitor Disperz®, Novartis) for the adjunctive treatment of adult and pediatric patients ≥2 years with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC)-associated partial-onset seizures.
On 22 December, the FDA updated the product label for nilotinib (Tasigna®, Novartis) to include discontinuation, post-discontinuation monitoring criteria, and guidance for treatment re-initiation in patients taking nilotinib for Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph+) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who have achieved a sustained molecular response (MR 4.5). More Information
On 21 December the FDA granted regular approval to hydroxyurea (Siklos®, Addmedica) for the reduction in frequency of painful crises and the need for blood transfusions in paediatric sickle cell anaemia patients ≥2 years of age with recurrent moderate to severe painful crises.
On 20 December 2017, the FDA granted regular approval to the anti-PD1 monoclonal antibody, nivolumab (Opdivo®, Bristol-Myers Squibb) for the adjuvant treatment of patients with melanoma with lymph node involvement or in patients with metastatic disease after complete resection. Nivolumab received prior FDA approval for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.
On 20 December 2017, the FDA granted regular approval to pertuzumab (Perjeta®, Roche/Genentech) for use with trastuzumab and chemotherapy as adjuvant treatment of patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer and a high recurrence risk.
On 19 December 2017, the FDA granted regular approval to cabozantinib (Cabometyx®, Exelixis) for treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
On 19 December 2017, the FDA granted accelerated approval to bosutinib (Bosulif®, Pfizer) for treatment of patients with newly-diagnosed chronic phase (CP) Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph+) chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML).
On 1 December 2017, the FDA approved Ogivri® (trastuzumab-dkst, Mylan) as a biosimilar to Herceptin® (trastuzumab, Genentech) for the treatment of patients with HER2-overexpressing breast or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.
On 30 November 2017, the FDA granted marketing approval for the FoundationOne companion diagnostic (F1CDx®, Foundation Medicine), a next generation sequencing (NGS) based in vitro diagnostic (IVD) to detect genetic mutations in 324 genes and two genomic signatures in any solid tumour.
On 16 November 2017, the FDA approved sunitinib malate (Sutent®, Pfizer) for the adjuvant treatment of adult renal cell carcinoma patients at high risk of recurrence following nephrectomy.
On 16 November 2017, the FDA granted regular approval to obinutuzumab (Gazyva®, Genentech) in combination with chemotherapy, followed by obinutuzumab monotherapy in adult patients with previously untreated stage II bulky, III, or IV follicular lymphoma (FL) patients who achieved at least a partial remission.
On 9 November 2017, the FDA granted regular approval to dasatinib (Sprycel®, Bristol-Myers Squibb) for the treatment of paediatric patients with chronic phase (CP) Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML).
On 9 November 2017, the FDA granted regular approval to brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris®, Seattle Genetics) for the treatment of adult patients with primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma (pcALCL) or CD30-expressing mycosis fungoides (MF) who underwent prior systemic therapy.
On 6 November 2017, the FDA granted regular approval to alectinib (Alecensa®, Roche/Genentech) for the treatment of patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as detected by an FDA-approved test.
On 6 November 2017, the FDA granted regular approval to vemurafenib (Zelboraf®, Roche) for the treatment of patients with Erdheim-Chester Disease (ECD) harbouring a BRAF V600 mutation.
On 31 October 2017, the FDA granted accelerated approval to acalabrutinib (Calquence®, AstraZeneca under license of Acerta Pharma BV) for treatment of adult patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and pre-treated with one or more prior therapy.
On 18 October 2017, the FDA granted regular approval to CAR-T axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta®, Kite Pharma) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of prior systemic therapy. Large B-cell lymphoma includes diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified, primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma, high-grade B-cell lymphoma, and DLBCL arising from follicular lymphoma.
On 28 September 2017, the FDA approved abemaciclib (Verzenio®, Eli Lilly and Company) in combination with fulvestrant for women with HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer with disease progression following endocrine therapy.
On September 22, 2017, the FDA granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA, Merck) for use in patients with locally advanced or metastatic, gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma positive for PD-L1 as determined by an FDA-approved companion diagnostic (CDx) and progressing after ≥2 prior systemic therapies, including a fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing regimen, and, when appropriate, HER2-targeted therapy.
On September 22, 2017, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to nivolumab (OPDIVO, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients who have been previously treated with sorafenib. Approval was based on a 154-patient subgroup of CHECKMATE-040 (NCT 01658878), a multicenter, open-label trial conducted in patients with HCC and […]
