17 May FDA Approves New Drug for Deadly Lung Cancer

By Robin Foster, HealthDay

FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a new drug to treat patients with an advanced form of deadly lung cancer.

Importantly, tarlatamab (Imdelltra) is only for patients who have exhausted all other options to treat extensive-stage small cell lung cancer.

“The FDA’s approval of Imdelltra marks a pivotal moment for patients battling [extensive-stage small cell lung cancer],” Dr. Jay Bradner, executive vice president of research and development and chief scientific officer at drug maker Amgen, said in a company news release. “Imdelltra offers these patients who are in urgent need of new innovative therapies hope, and we’re proud to deliver this long-awaited effective treatment to them.”

In a company trial, tarlatamab tripled patients’ life expectancy, giving them a median survival of 14 months. But not everyone benefited: Forty percent of those who got the drug responded. Read more…