FDA Approvals, News & Updates

On January 26, 2023, the FDA approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda; Merck), a PD-1 inhibitor, as monotherapy for adjuvant treatment of patients with stage IB (T2a ≥4 cm), II, or IIIA non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), after resection and platinum-based chemotherapy.

On January 19, 2023, the FDA accelerated the approval of tucatinib (Tukysa; Seagen), a Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in combination with trastuzumab (Herceptin), a HER2/neu receptor agonist, for the treatment of RAS wild-type, HER2-positive, unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) that progressed after fluoropyrimidine-, oxaliplatin-, and irinotecan-based chemotherapies.

On January 19, 2023, the FDA approved zanubrutinib (Brukinsa; BeiGene USA), a Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). The FDA granted zanubrutinib an orphan drug designation for this indication.

On December 9, 2022, the FDA approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq; Genentech), a PD-L1 inhibitor, for patients aged ≥2 years with unresectable or metastatic alveolar soft-part sarcoma (ASPS), a type of soft-tissue sarcoma.

On January 27, 2023, the FDA accelerated the approval of pirtobrutinib (Jaypirca; Eli Lilly) for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL) after at least 2 lines of systemic therapy, including a Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor.

On December 22, 2022, the FDA accelerated the approval of mosunetuzumab-axgb (Lunsumio; Genentech), a bispecific CD20-directed CD3 T-cell engager, for adults with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma after ≥2 lines of systemic therapy. The FDA granted this indication breakthrough therapy and orphan drug designations.

On December 1, 2022, the FDA approved olutasidenib (Rezlidhia; Forma Therapeutics) capsules, an oral IDH1 inhibitor, for adults with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and a susceptible IDH1 mutation, as detected by an FDA-approved test.

On November 14, 2022, the FDA accelerated the approval of mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx (Elahere; ImmunoGen), an intravenous folate receptor alpha (FRα)-directed antibody and microtubule inhibitor conjugate, for the treatment of adults with FRα-positive, platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer after 1 to 3 previous systemic treatments, regardless of previous use of bevacizumab (Avastin). Patients should be identified for treatment with mirvetuximab soravtansine by an FDA-approved test.

On October 25, 2022, the FDA accelerated the approval of teclistamab-cqyv (Tecvayli; Janssen Biotech), the first bispecific B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed CD3 T-cell engager, for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who received ≥4 previous lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor (PI), an immunomodulatory agent (IMiD), and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody. The FDA granted teclistamab breakthrough therapy and orphan drug designations.

On October 21, 2022, the FDA approved tremelimumab (Imjudo; AstraZeneca), a CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody, in combination with durvalumab (Imfinzi; AstraZeneca), a PD-L1 inhibitor, for the treatment of adults with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The FDA granted tremelimumab an orphan drug designation for this indication.