US FDA backs Abraxane for metastatic pancreatic cancer

US biotech firm Celgene (Nasdaq: CELG) said on Friday (September 6) that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved its supplemental New Drug Application of Abraxane (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension; albumin-bound) as first–line treatment for patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, in combination with gemcitabine. Adenocarcinoma, a sub-type of exocrine tumors, accounts for about 95% of cancers of the pancreas.

Abraxane is also approved to treat breast cancer (2005) and non-small cell lung cancer (2012). Gemcitabine is marketed by US drug major Eli Lilly as Gemzar. Sales of Abraxane last year were $427 million, and $277.5 million in the first half of this year, up nearly 30% from the same period a year ago.

According to health care advisory firm Decision Resources, the pancreatic cancer drug market will remain relatively flat over the next decade, increasing from more than $693 million in 2009 to around $829 million in 2019 in the major markets of the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and Japan.