Pfizer's Xalkori gains added lung cancer indication in EU

The European Commission has approved US pharma giant Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) Xalkori (crizotinib) for the treatment of adults with ROS1-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the company revealed today.

In the European Union, Xalkori is also indicated for treatment of adults with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive advanced NSCLC. In March of this year, Xalkori was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for patients with metastatic NSCLC whose tumors are ROS1-positive. With this approval, Xalkori becomes the only biomarker-driven therapy approved for patients with either ALK positive or ROS1-positive advanced NSCLC in the EU and USA.

Pfizer posted sales for the drug of $488 million in 2015, and $139 million in the first quarter of this year. The entry of 11 novel therapies – including Xalkori - into the non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) market will drive the market's growth from $5.4 billion in 2014 to $12.7 billion in 2024, according to a recent report from Decision Resources Group.