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Gina Columbus

Articles by Gina Columbus

The FDA has approved ABP 980 (Kanjinti; trastuzumab-anns), a trastuzumab biosimilar, for the treatment of patients with HER2-overexpressing breast cancer as well as HER2-overexpressing metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, marking the fifth approval by the agency for a trastuzumab biosimilar.

The FDA has approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic or unresectable recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma as monotherapy whose tumors express PD-L1 (composite positive score [CPS] ≥1) and also in combination with platinum and fluorouracil (FU) for this patient population, irrespective of PD-L1 expression.

The combination of acalabrutinib (Calquence) and obinutuzumab (Gazyva) demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival compared with obinutuzumab/chlorambucil in patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia, meeting the primary endpoint of the phase III ELEVATE-TN trial.

Ixazomib in combination with dexamethasone did not demonstrate a significant improvement in overall hematologic response compared with standard therapy in patients with relapsed/refractory systemic light-chain amyloidosis, missing one of two primary endpoints in the phase III TOURMALINE-AL1 trial and leading to discontinuation of the study.

The FDA has accepted a biologics license application for the investigational erythroid maturation agent luspatercept for the treatment of adult patients with very low- to intermediate-risk myelodysplastic syndromes-associated anemia who have ring sideroblasts and require red blood cell (RBC) transfusions, as well as for adult patients with beta-thalassemia-associated anemia who require RBC transfusions.

The FDA approved a supplemental new drug application to update the label for gilteritinib to include final analysis data from the phase III ADMIRAL trial, which demonstrated an improvement in overall survival with the FLT3 inhibitor compared with salvage chemotherapy in adult patients with relapsed/refractory FLT3-mutant acute myeloid leukemia.

The triplet regimen of encorafenib, binimetinib, and cetuximab led to a 48% reduction in the risk of death compared with cetuximab and irinotecan-containing regimens in patients with BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer who previously received up to 2 lines of therapy, meeting both primary endpoints of the phase III BEACON CRC trial.

Single-agent pembrolizumab (Keytruda) did not meet a prespecified endpoint of superior overall survival compared with chemotherapy as a second- or third-line treatment for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, missing the primary endpoint of the phase III KEYNOTE-119 trial.

The European Commission has granted an approval to lenalidomide in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with previously untreated multiple myeloma who are ineligible for stem cell transplant, as well as pomalidomide in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with myeloma who have received ≥1 prior treatment regimen that included lenalidomide.