Novartis Develops New Drug for Advanced Lung Cancer

Swiss drug manufacturers Novartis have developed a drug for advanced lung cancer. European health regulators have recommended approval of the drug, which is intended to treat patients with a specific genetic mutation.

A new class medicines Zykadia, or ceritinib known as ALK (Anaplastic lymphoma kinase) inhibitors was approved last year in the United States.

It is designed for use in non-small cell lung cancer patients who have previously been treated with another ALK inhibitor, Pfizer's Xalkori.

The drug is targeted for a specific mutation of the ALK protein found mainly in 2 - 7 percent of non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Source: Medindia

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