Eli Lilly and Company has received its fourth US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for Cyramza (ramucirumab). Cyrmaza (ramucirumab injection 10 mg/mL solution) is now also indicated in combination with Folfori (irinotecan, folinic acid, and 5-fluorouracil) chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) with disease progression on or after prior therapy with bevacizumab, oxaliplatin, and a fluoropyrimidine.

Cyramza is an antiangiogenic therapy. It is a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) Receptor 2 antagonist that specifically binds and blocks activation of VEGF Receptor 2 by blocking the binding of VEGF receptor ligands VEGF-A, VEGF-C, and VEGF-D. Cyramza inhibited angiogenesis in an in vivo animal model. Angiogenesis is the process of making new blood vessels. In a person with cancer, angiogenesis creates new blood vessels that give a tumor its own blood supply, allowing it to grow and spread.

In the US, Cyramza also is approved for use as a single agent or in combination with paclitaxel (a type of chemotherapy) as a treatment for people with advanced or metastatic gastric (stomach) or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma whose cancer has progressed on or after prior fluoropyrimidine- or platinum-containing chemotherapy. It is also approved in combination with docetaxel (a type of chemotherapy) as a treatment for people with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer whose cancer has progressed on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.

Source: Eli Lilly and Company