Apotex Corp. announced April 12 the company’s release of Paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injection (albumin-bound), a generic version of Abraxane in the United States.

Eli Lilly and Company announced updated data from the Phase 1/2 LIBRETTO-001 trial of Retevmo (selpercatinib 40 mg & 80 mg capsules) in patients with RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

BioNTech announced an expansion of a collaboration with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to continue advancing mRNA technology and develop the FixVac candidate BNT116 in combination with Regeneron and Sanofi’s shared pharmaceutical product Libtayo (cemiplimab) for non-small cell lung cancer.

BioSpace looks at the 10 biggest drug approvals of 2021, headlined by Biogen’s Aduhelm (aducanumab) for Alzheimer’s disease and Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty.

The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson announced Conditional Marketing Authorization (CMA) of RYBREVANT (amivantamab) for the treatment of adult patients with advanced NSCLC with activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 20 insertion mutations, after failure of platinum-based therapy.

Bristol-Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb’s Phase III CheckMate -816 trial hit the primary endpoint in an interim analysis evaluating the company’s checkpoint inhibitor Opdivo (nivolumab) and chemotherapy in patients with resectable stage IB to IIIA non-small cell lung cancer.

Junshi Biosciences announced that the Phase III clinical trial the Chinese pharmaceutical company is conducting alongside California-based Coherus BioSciences on a potential non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) drug is showing positive preliminary results. 

Findings from the Phase III EMPOWER-Lung 3 trial, announced Aug. 5 by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi, show that a combination regimen comprising the PD-1 inhibitor Libtayo and platinum-doublet chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with metastatic or locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Two Labs

Traditional management tools have proven to be ineffective at managing costs for oncology drugs, leading to a hands-off management approach in the United States. But a recent survey from Two Labs – including 25 Pharmacy Directors and Medical Directors at US insurance companies representing 112.5 million covered lives – shows that the situation might be changing. The survey aimed to gather insight about what the industry looks like with increased levels of care management by covering traditional management tools, oncology-specific tools, systemic management tools and shifting risk, value frameworks, and pathways of care.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration made the decision to grant Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Mirati Therapeutics’ adagrasib for the potential treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients harboring the KRASG12C mutation after systemic therapy.