Regulator says too many drugmakers chasing same cancer strategy

 

Reuters reports that Dr. Richard Pazdur, who heads the Food and Drug Administration’s office of oncology products, believes that?too many companies are focused on PD-1 inhibitors for?cancer immunotherapy.

Whereas PD-1 inhibitors show promise for remarkable efficacy, Dr. Pazdur is reportedly concerned that?too many companies are putting eggs in the same basket?taking the same risks?rather than investing in alternative novel therapies.

“People should ask themselves … would we be better off spending those resources into looking at more novel drugs?” Pazdur reportedly told Reuters during the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago.

Bristol-Myers and Merck are widely viewed as leaders in the immunotherapy race, with treatments defying the odds to help patients fight off some of the deadliest cancers.??Read more…

 

Additional Reading

• PD-L1 (B7-H1) and PD-1 pathway blockade for cancer therapy: Mechanisms, response biomarkers, and combinations
• PD-1 Blockade with Pembrolizumab in Advanced Merkel-Cell Carcinoma
• CTLA-4 and PD-1 Pathways: Similarities, Differences, and Implications of Their Inhibition