Cyramza Receives Extended Approval for Advanced NSCLC

Article

The combination of (Cyramza) ramucirumab with docetaxel was today approved by the FDA for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer and in those who have been treated with platinum-based therapy.

On December 12, 2014, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration approved ramucirumab (Cyramza Injection, Eli Lilly and Company) for use in combination with docetaxel for the treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients with EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations should have disease progression on FDA-approved therapy for these aberrations prior to receiving ramucirumab. Ramucirumab was previously approved as a single agent and for use in combination with paclitaxel for the treatment of patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma after disease progression on first line therapy.

The approval of ramucirumab in combination with docetaxel in NSCLC was based on the demonstration of improved overall survival (OS) in a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study (I4T-MC-JVBA) that enrolled 1253 patients with previously treated metastatic NSCLC. Patients were randomized to receive either ramucirumab (10 mg/kg every three weeks) in combination with docetaxel (75 mg/m2 every 3 weeks) on day 1 of a 21-day cycle (n=628) or matching placebo plus docetaxel (n=625).

A statistically significant prolongation of OS was demonstrated [HR 0.86; (95% CI: 0.75, 0.98); p=0.024]; median OS was 10.5 months in the ramucirumab plus docetaxel arm and 9.1 months in the placebo plus docetaxel arm. Progression-free survival was also significantly longer for patients receiving ramucirumab plus docetaxel [HR=0.76 (95% CI: 0.68, 0.86); p<0.001)].

Link to the FDA press release: http://1.usa.gov/1BqivPs

Recent Videos
Manali Kamdar, MD, the associate professor of medicine–hematology and clinical director of lymphoma services at the University of Colorado
Ben Samelson-Jones, MD, PhD, assistant professor pediatric hematology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania and Associate Director, Clinical In Vivo Gene Therapy, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Manali Kamdar, MD, the associate professor of medicine–hematology and clinical director of lymphoma services at the University of Colorado
Steven W. Pipe, MD, a professor of pediatric hematology/oncology at CS Mott Children’s Hospital
Haydar Frangoul, MD, the medical director of pediatric hematology/oncology at Sarah Cannon Research Institute and Pediatric Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program at TriStar Centennial
David Barrett, JD, the chief executive officer of ASGCT
Georg Schett, MD, vice president research and chair of internal medicine at the University of Erlangen – Nuremberg
David Barrett, JD, the chief executive officer of ASGCT
Bhagirathbhai R. Dholaria, MD, an associate professor of medicine in malignant hematology & stem cell transplantation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.