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On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that the drug (with the generic name of axitinib) is effective in curing patients who do not show response to other drugs against kidney cancer.
The advance stage of kidney cancer usually begins in the lining of the kidney's tubes. Inlyta does its work by blocking specific receptors that are involved in the growth of tumor.
According to FDA, Inlyta is already the seventh drug it approved to cure advanced cancer of the kidney since 2005.
American Cancer Society said that more than 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with kidney cancer last year and 1 out of 5 is expected to die from them.
The FDA approval has come as a welcome opportunity for Pfizer since they have lost revenue from their cholesterol drug, Lipitor, after generic counterparts started to come out last year.
However, Inlyta will still face tough competition from the 6 other drugs for kidney cancer that have their respective market shares already.
An advisory committee of FDA endorsed the oral drug last month and announced that it is as effective and as safe as the kidney cancer medication from Bayer AG, Nexavar.
However, the results differed based on what certain medicines patients have taken prior. For people who took first the Sutent (also from Pfizer), Inlyta slowed the spread of disease only by one and a half months, compared to the more than 5 months for patients treated with cytokines beforehand.
Most of the advisers of FDA stated that the drug does not have a huge advantage over others. However, the fact that it has different side effects than the other medicine in the market could be an important deciding factor for patients.
Several of the most common side effects of using Inlyta include high blood pressure, weight loss, vomiting, loss of voice and diarrhea. Some patients also reported bleeding problems that can possibly lead to fatality in extreme cases.
FDA issued a warning to patients with high blood pressure, intestinal bleeding, or untreated brain tumors in their intake of Inlyta.
Meanwhile, Pfizer is conducting further tests of Inlyta for liver cancer treatment.
