The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Exelixis
Inc's cabozantinib as a treatment for medullary thyroid cancer that has spread
to other parts of the body. Cabozantinib, the company's lead product candidate,
is an oral drug designed to limit blood supply to tumors as well as block two
segments of a pathway used by cancer cells to grow and spread.
The FDA announcement came shortly after the close of stock market
trading in New York, where Exelixis shares eased slightly on the day at $5.24
per share. The regulatory agency noted that cabozantinib is the second drug
approved to treat medullary thyroid cancer in the past two years. The other
drug, Caprelsa, is marketed by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals.
Medullary thyroid cancer, which is rare and difficult to treat, develops
in cells that make a hormone called calcitonin, which helps maintain a healthy
level of calcium in the blood. It can occur spontaneously or in families that
are genetically prone. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 56,460
Americans will be diagnosed with thyroid cancer and 1,780 will die from the
disease in 2012. About 4 percent of thyroid cancers are medullary thyroid
cancer.
The FDA completed its review of cabozantinib in six months under the
agency's priority review program. San Francisco-based Exelixis is also studying
the drug as a treatment for a number of different tumor types, including
prostate cancer.
Source: Chicago Tribune
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