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VIEW ALL NEWSAfinitor reduces lymphoma tumor size
ZURICH (Reuters) - Afinitor cut the tumor size by 50 percent or more in one third of patients with lymphoma in a mid-stage clinical trial, the Swiss drug maker Novartis AG said on Monday.
Novartis said it had started a late-stage trial to evaluate Afinitor's potential to extend disease-free survival in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The generic name for Afinitor is everolimus.
European regulators last month recommended Afinitor for use against advanced kidney cancer, paving the way for approval of the drug. U.S. regulators approved Afinitor earlier this year for use in advanced kidney cancer and Novartis expects it to be effective against other disease types.
Afinitor, which works by blocking a protein known as mTOR and disrupting the growth, division and metabolism of cancer cells, is a key plank of Novartis' strategy to expand in cancer drugs.
The company expects a filing for use in neuroendocrine tumors within the next year.
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