FDA approves Inlyta (Pfizer) for Renal Cell Carcinoma - 28-Jan-2012

The FDA has approved Inlyta (axitinib)from Pfizer to treat patients with advanced kidney cancer (Renal Cell Carcinoma) who have not responded to another drug for this type of cancer. The decision was based on the AXIS 1032 study where axitinib significantly extended progression-free survival (PFS), with a median PFS of 6.7 months (95% CI, 6.3-8.6 months), compared with 4.7 months (4.6-5.6 months) for those treated with sorafenib a standard of care for this patient population. Recently approved drugs for the treatment of kidney cancer include Nexavar( sorafenib) (2005),Sutent (sunitinib) (2006),Torisel (temsirolimus )(2007), Afinitor (everolimus) (2009),Avastin (bevacizumab) (2009) and Votrient (pazopanib) (2009).