Industry News

FDA Approves Pembrolizumab for Metastatic SCLC
On June 17, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck) for patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy and at least one other prior line of therapy.

Read FDA announcement.

Posted 6/18/2019

FDA Approves Biosimilar Trastuzumab-anns for All Approved Herceptin Indications
On June 13, 2019, Amgen and Allergan plc announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Kanjinti^™ (trastuzumab-anns) for all approved indications of the reference product, Herceptin^® (trastuzumab): for the treatment of HER2-overexpressing adjuvant and metastatic breast cancer and HER2-overexpressing metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

Read corporate press release.

Posted 6/14/2019

FDA Approves First-Line Pembrolizumab for Metastatic or Unresectable HNSCC
On June 10, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck) for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic or unresectable recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Pembrolizumab was approved for use in combination with platinum and fluorouracil (FU) for all patients and as a single agent for patients whose tumors express PD‑L1 (Combined Positive Score [CPS] ≥1) as determined by an FDA‑approved test. The FDA also expanded the intended use for the PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx kit to include use as a companion diagnostic device for selecting patients with HNSCC for treatment with pembrolizumab as a single agent.

Read the FDA announcement.

Posted 6/11/2019

FDA Approves Alpelisib for Metastatic Breast Cancer
On May 24, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved alpelisib (Piqray, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation) in combination with fulvestrant for postmenopausal women, and men, with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative, PIK3CA-mutated, advanced or metastatic breast cancer as detected by an FDA-approved test following progression on or after an endocrine-based regimen.

Read FDA announcement.

Posted 5/28/2019

FDA Approves Ruxolitinib for Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease
On May 24, Incyte Corporation announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ruxolitinib (Jakafi) for the treatment of steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) for adults and pediatric patients ≥12 years of age. It is the first and only FDA-approved treatment for this indication.

Read the Incyte press release here.

Posted 5/24/2019

FDA Approves Avelumab Plus Axitinib for Advanced RCC

On May 14, Pfizer Inc. announced that the FDA has approved avelumab (Bavencio) plus axitinib (Inlyta) for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). A Phase III study showed that the combination significantly lowered risk of disease progression or death by 31 percent and extended progression-free survival by 5.4 months for patients with advanced RCC compared with sunitinib.

Read the Pfizer press release.

Posted 5/15/2019

FDA Approves Pembrolizumab + Axitinib for Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma
On April 19, the FDA approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck & Co. Inc.) plus axitinib (Inlyta, Pfizer Inc.) for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Read the full FDA press release here.

Posted 4/22/2019

FDA Expands Pembrolizumab Indication to Include First-Line NSCLC Treatment
On April 11, 2019, the Food and Drug Administration approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck Inc.) for the first-line treatment of patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are not candidates for surgical resection or definitive chemoradiation or metastatic NSCLC. Patients’ tumors must have no EGFR or ALK genomic aberrations and express PD-L1 (Tumor Proportion Score [TPS] ≥1%) determined by an FDA-approved test.

Read the FDA press release here.

Posted 4/12/2019

FDA Expands Palbociclib Use to Include Male Breast Cancer Patients
On April 4, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration extended the indication of palbociclib (Ibrance, Pfizer Inc.) capsules in combination with specific endocrine therapies for hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer in male patients.

Read the full FDA press release here.

Posted 4/5/2019

HCPCS Assigns J-Code and ASP for Imfinzi

Imfinzi (durvalumab) has been assigned a unique Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code and average sales price (ASP) by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaide Services (CMS). The following code can be used to identify Imfinzi when billing across settings of care:
- J9173: Injection, durvalumab, 10 mg (vial size 500mg/10 mL, billing unit 50 units, NDC 0310-4611-50)
- J9173: Injection, durvalumab, 10 mg (vial size 120mg/2.4 mL, billing unit 12 units, NDC 0310-4500-12)
Each provider is responsible for ensuring all coding is accurate and documented in the medical record based on the condition of the patient. The use of this information does not guarantee reimbursement. Healthcare providers are encouraged to contact payers to confirm code adoption and approved usage prior to submitting claims. Imfinzi is listed in the April 2019 ASP Pricing File:
- J9173: Inj., durvalumab, 10 mg (HCPCS code dosage 10MG, payment limit $73.778).
Posted 12/19/2018

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