European Commission approves Caprelsa(AstraZeneca) for medullary Thyroid Cancer

The European Commission has granted marketing authorisation for Caprelsa (vandetanib) for the treatment of aggressive and symptomatic medullary Thyroid Cancer in patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic disease. Caprelsa is the first approved treatment for advanced medullary Thyroid Cancer in Europe. Caprelsa was granted orphan drug status and approved by the FDA in April 2011. Caprelsa is also approved in Canada and is under review in Russia, Switzerland, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Australia. The EC decision is based on data including the ZETA study, a double-blind trial of 331 patients with advanced medullary Thyroid Cancer that has progressed and spread to other parts of the body, which showed a 54 per cent reduction in risk of disease progression compared to placebo (hazard ratio 0.46; 95% CI, 0.31�0.69; P<0.001).>