MESOTHELIOMA DRUG

FDA Approves Alimta, First Drug for Mesothelioma

Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Published: February 05, 2004

The Food and Drug Administration today approved Alimta by Eli Lilly and Company for use in combination with cisplatin for the treatment of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma-a rare type of cancer. Alimta is the first drug approved for this condition.

Cancer of the mesothelium, a membrane that covers and protects most of the internal organs of the body is rare; about 2,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States each year. This form of cancer is usually associated with a history of asbestos exposure. Asbestos fibers lodged in the lung attach to the outer lung lining and chest wall, causing tumors to grow. By the time symptoms appear, the disease is usually advanced, and patients live, on average, nine to thirteen months following diagnosis.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is "one of the most devastating kinds of cancer a person can have," said Paolo Paoletti, M.D., vice president of oncology clinical research at Lilly. "This is a cancer that is lethal, painful and debilitating."

Lilly estimates that between 10,000 and 15,000 people worldwide are diagnosed annually with malignant pleural mesothelioma, a figure that is increasing.

"Most people do not learn they have malignant pleural mesothelioma until the disease has progressed to an advanced stage when treatment with surgery or radiation is not an option," Lilly said.