FDA backs Eisai's Lenvima for renal cancer

Japanese pharma major Eisai (TYO: 4523) has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for Lenvima (lenvatinib mesylate), the company's multiple receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in combination with everolimus for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC) who were previously treated with an anti-angiogenic therapy.

This approval was based on the impressive results of the registration study (Study 205), in which the once daily combination of 18mg Lenvima and 5mg everolimus demonstrated a substantial improvement in progression-free survival (PFS), powerful objective response rate (ORR) and clinically meaningful overall survival (OS) when compared with everolimus alone, a standard of care for patients with aRCC who have received prior anti-angiogenic therapy.

"Lenvatinib plus everolimus is the first and only FDA-approved regimen that successfully combines treatments that employ tyrosine kinase and mTOR inhibition, the primary targets of advanced RCC treatment for the past decade," said Robert Motzer, of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and the principal investigator of the study. "This combination regimen led to enhanced efficacy and helped patients with advanced RCC live longer without disease progression or death than those treated with everolimus alone. These noteworthy findings advance the treatment paradigm for this patient population," Dr Motzer added.