Wednesday, December 8, 2010

FDA Approved Drugs for Oncology in 2010

As we look back at the year, it's interesting to see how many new oncology drugs have been approved this year. According to CenterWatch, we had the following new drugs (or new drug indications) in oncology:
  • Halaven (eribulin mesylate); Eisai; For the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, Approved November 2010
  • Herceptin (trastuzumab); Genentech; For the treatment of gastric cancer, Approved October 2010
  • Jevtana (cabazitaxel); sanofi aventis; For the treatment of prostate cancer, Approved June 2010
  • Provenge (sipuleucel-T); Dendreon; For the treatment of hormone refractory prostate cancer, Approved May 2010
  • Xgeva (denosumab); Amgen; For the prevention of skeletal-related events in patients with bone metastases from solid tumors, Approved November 2010
  • Zuplenz (ondansetron oral soluble film); Strativa Pharmaceuticals; For the prevention of post-operative, chemotherapy and radiotherapy induced nausea and vomiting, Approved July 2010
Several of these drugs are not new, but they received new indications. For instance, Herceptin has been around for the treatment of breast cancer, but it recently received a new indication for the treatment of gastric cancer. If we review the FDA website, we see that several other oncology drugs received accelerated approval, a few drugs got pulled from the market, and that non-drug technologies were approved in oncology. One example of a non-drug technology is hexaminolevulinate hydrochloride (Cysview for Intravesical Solution, Photocure ASA), as an optical imaging agent for use in combination with the Karl Storz Photodynamic Diagnostic D-Light C (PDD) System for cystoscopic detection of non-muscle invasive papillary cancer of the bladder for patients suspected or known to have lesion(s) on the basis of a prior cystoscopy. (May 28, 2010)

So what will 2011 look like in oncology? I'm sure we'll see several new targeted therapies, vaccines and other novel drugs used to treat and prevent cancer. It should get more interesting as we get more involved with genomics and personalized medicine in the area of oncology.

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