Puma Biotechnology issued the following announcement on Sep. 3.
Puma Biotechnology, Inc. (Nasdaq: PBYI) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to NERLYNX® (neratinib) for the treatment of breast cancer patients with brain metastases.
“Receiving Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA signifies our continued progress and commitment to developing treatments for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer,” said Alan H. Auerbach, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Puma. “Despite expanded treatment options for HER2-positive breast cancer, brain metastases in these patients represent a significant clinical challenge, as well as sources of morbidity and mortality for most of these patients. The blood-tumor penetrability of NERLYNX represents a potential treatment option for these underserved patients.”
The FDA Orphan Drug Designation program grants orphan designation to investigational drugs designed to treat, prevent, or diagnose rare medical diseases or conditions that affect fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States. Orphan designation qualifies sponsors for several key benefits and incentives, including opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax credits, user fee waivers, and the potential for a seven-year period of marketing exclusivity upon FDA approval of the investigational drug for the indication for which it has orphan designation.
About HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
Approximately 20 to 25 percent of breast cancer tumors over-express the HER2 protein. HER2-positive breast cancer is often more aggressive than other types of breast cancer, increasing the risk of disease progression and death. Although research has shown that trastuzumab can reduce the risk of early stage HER2-positive breast cancer returning after surgery, up to 25% of patients treated with trastuzumab experience recurrence.
About Puma Biotechnology
Puma Biotechnology, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company with a focus on the development and commercialization of innovative products to enhance cancer care. Puma in-licenses the global development and commercialization rights to three drug candidates — PB272 (neratinib, oral), PB272 (neratinib, intravenous) and PB357. Neratinib, oral was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July 2017 for the extended adjuvant treatment of adult patients with early stage HER2-overexpressed/amplified breast cancer, following adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy, and is marketed in the United States as NERLYNX® (neratinib) tablets. NERLYNX was granted marketing authorization by the European Commission in September 2018 for the extended adjuvant treatment of adult patients with early stage hormone receptor-positive HER2-overexpressed/amplified breast cancer and who are less than one year from completion of prior adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy. NERLYNX is a registered trademark of Puma Biotechnology, Inc.
Original source can be found here.
