Label for post-surgical Sutent on a knife edge, as competition in first-line closes in

First approved in the USA in 2006, Sutent (sunitinib) has brought in over a billion dollars for Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) every year since 2010, including last year, thanks to its broad use as a first-line kidney cancer therapy.

There are signs, however, that a slight sales wobble - $279 million last quarter, compared with $285 million for third-quarter 2016 - could be more just a mere bump in the road.

Now, as the US Food and Drug Administration's advisory panel says it’s evenly split on the value of Sutent in the adjuvant setting, Pfizer’s effort to broaden the drug’s use may be about to falter.