FDA Approvals, News & Updates

Now in its fourth week, the longest shutdown in the history of the federal government is having an impact on patient care, as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has put drug reviews and approvals for new drugs and devices, as well as the issuance of new guidance documents, on indefinite hold. The FDA recently posted on its website a notice alerting the public of its current operational status.

On November 2, 2018, the FDA approved pegfilgrastim-cbqv (Udenyca; Coherus BioSciences), as the second biosimilar to pegfilgrastim (Neulasta), to reduce the risk for infection in patients with nonmyeloid malignancies who receive myelosuppressive chemotherapy, which may result in febrile neutropenia.

On October 16, 2018, the FDA approved talazoparib (Talzenna; Pfizer), a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with HER2-­negative, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer and deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA mutation, as identified by an FDA-approved test.

On February 14, 2018, apalu­tamide (Erleada; Janssen Pharmaceuticals), an androgen receptor inhibitor, received accelerated approval by the FDA for the treatment of patients with nonmetastatic, cas­tration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Apalutamide is the first treatment approved by the FDA for patients with nonmetastatic CRPC, and was approved under the FDA priority review process.

On January 12, 2018, the FDA approved a new indication for olaparib (Lynparza; AstraZeneca) for the treatment of women with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-positive, HER2-negative, metastatic breast cancer who received previous chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant, or metastatic setting.