|
 The Food and Drug Administration said it has
approved ramucirumab for use in patients whose cancer cannot be
surgically removed or has spread following chemotherapy treatment.
It will be sold by Lilly under the brand name Cyramza.
The drug, which works by blocking blood supplies that tumors need to
grow, had been considered one of the most important in Lilly's
developmental pipeline. Cowen and Co has forecast annual Cyramza
sales reaching $1 billion by 2019.
"Although the rates of stomach cancer in the United States have
decreased over the past 40 years, patients require new treatment
options, particularly when they no longer respond to other
therapies," Richard Pazdur, who oversees oncology products in the
FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.
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An estimated 22,220 Americans will be diagnosed with stomach cancer
and 10,990 will die from the disease this year, according to the
National Cancer Institute.
(Reporting by Bill Berkrot; editing by Eric Walsh)
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