ASCO in Action

ASCO in Action provides the latest news and analysis related to critical policy issues affecting the cancer community, updates on the Association for Clinical Oncology’s ongoing advocacy efforts, and opportunities for members and others in the cancer care community to take action.

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Showing results for Cancer Drugs

May 7, 2024

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a series of final rules aimed at standardizing several aspects of the Medicaid program. Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration issued the long-awaited 340B Administrative Dispute Resolution final rule. Key points from the four rules are listed.

April 29, 2024

On April 29, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration granted traditional approval to tisotumab vedotin-tftv (Tivdak, Seagen Inc. [now a part of Pfizer Inc.]) for recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer with disease progression on or after chemotherapy. Tisotumab vedotin-tftv previously received accelerated approval for this indication.

April 26, 2024

On April 26, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration issued three draft guidance documents on eligibility criteria in cancer clinical trials to address performance status, washout periods and concomitant medications, and laboratory values.
These guidances are a continuation of an effort initiated in 2017 in collaboration with the American Society of Clinical Oncology and Friends of Cancer Research to broaden eligibility criteria in cancer trials. The new guidances provide FDAs current thinking on several critical eligibility categories. 

April 23, 2024

On April 23, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration approved lutetium Lu 177 dotatate (Lutathera, Advanced Accelerator Applications USA, Inc., a Novartis company) for pediatric patients 12 years and older with somatostatin receptor (SSTR)-positive gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs), including foregut, midgut, and hindgut neuroendocrine tumors. Lutetium Lu 177 dotatate received approval for this indication for adults in 2018. 

April 23, 2024

On April 23, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to tovorafenib (Ojemda, Day One Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.) for patients 6 months of age and older with relapsed or refractory pediatric low-grade glioma (LGG) harboring a BRAF fusion or rearrangement, or BRAF V600 mutation.

April 23, 2024

On April 22, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration approved nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln (Anktiva, Altor BioScience, LLC) with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) for adult patients with BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) with carcinoma in situ (CIS) with or without papillary tumors. 

April 18, 2024

On April 18, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration approved alectinib (Alecensa, Genentech, Inc.) for adjuvant treatment following tumor resection in patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as detected by an FDA-approved test.

April 9, 2024

State governments are increasingly considering legislation to streamline prior authorizations processes, which Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) members say delay patient care, adversely affect cancer care outcomes, and divert providers from patient care. States have regulatory authority over fully insured health benefit plans (group and individual plans) and health benefit plans administered by the state itself (Medicaid and state employee benefit plans). This means that state governments can impact plan design through either legislation or regulatory action, and during the past decade, a majority of states have been working to leverage that impact to reform prior authorization.

April 5, 2024

On April 5, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.) for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive (IHC3+) solid tumors who have received prior systemic treatment and have no satisfactory alternative treatment options.

March 22, 2024

On March 22, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration approved mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx (Elahere, ImmunoGen, Inc. [now a part of AbbVie]) for adult patients with FRα positive, platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer, who have received one to three prior systemic treatment regimens. Patients are selected based on an FDA-approved test. Mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx previously received accelerated approval for this indication.

March 21, 2024

On March 21, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration approved safety labeling changes for fluorouracil injection products. This effort was a collaboration between FDA’s Office of Generic Drugs and the Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE). 

March 19, 2024

On March 19, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to ponatinib (Iclusig, Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.) with chemotherapy for adult patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL).

March 7, 2024

On March 6, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration approved nivolumab (Opdivo, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company) in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC).

March 7, 2024

On March 7, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to zanubrutinib (Brukinsa, BeiGene USA, Inc.) with obinutuzumab for relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy.

March 6, 2024

On February 13, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration approved irinotecan liposome (Onivyde, Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.) with oxaliplatin, fluorouracil, and leucovorin, for the first-line treatment of metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

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