FDA Approvals, News & Updates

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the orphan drug vandetanib (trade name pending; AstraZeneca), a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of symptomatic or progressive medullary thyroid cancer in patients with unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic disease.

Applying its priority review route, the FDA approved the biologic medication ipilimumab (Yervoy; Bristol-Myers Squibb) as a second-line therapy for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.