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Generic cure for various types of cancer approved

Food Control Administration andThe United States of Medicines (FDA) has approved the manufacture of the new universal anti-cancer drug Vitrakvi, developed by Loxo Oncology in collaboration with Bayer. The peculiarity of the drug is that it is designed to combat mutations in cancer tumors at the genetic level. The technique can be used to treat any type of cancer - only the type of genetic distortion is important, not the location of the cancer. It is reported by the publication Business Insider.

The medicine is expensive. The annual supply of Vitrakvi will cost 393 thousand dollars. A Bayer company statement says that 2,500-3,000 people are diagnosed annually with genetic mutations that lead to the development of cancer. It is also reported that for children the drug will be produced in liquid form, and its price for the annual volume of this case will be reduced to $ 132,000 per year. Bayer also reports that it intends to offer financial assistance to those patients who cannot pay the full cost of the medicine. In this case, the price for them will significantly decrease - the cost of a monthly supply of Vitrakvi will be $ 20, which is perfectly feasible for most patients.

“Today’s approval means another importanta step in the fight against various types of cancer, taking into account their tumor genetics, and not simply on the basis of their local origin in the body, ”according to the US Food and Drug Administration.

In 2017, Loxo Oncology signed withpharmaceutical giant Bayer agreement for $ 1.5 billion to develop and commercialize two drugs Loxo, including Vitrakvi. During the trials, this drug was called Lrotrecinib (larotrectinib LOXO-101).

The use of funds aimed atcertain genetic mutations, represents a new approach in the treatment of cancer. Most pharmaceutical companies develop drugs that target only a specific type of cancer, such as lung cancer or melanoma. In this case, you have to get approval from the regulatory authorities each time to check the effect of these drugs on other types of cancer.

Decoding the genetic pattern of tumors is oftenused in modern medicine. However, this approach attracted a lot of attention only in 2013, when scientists discovered that endometrial cancer has a similar genetic pattern with ovarian and breast cancer.

In May 2017, the FDA approved the first medicinala tool aimed at treating genetic mutations that paved the way for the development of similar products by other manufacturers, including Loxo. A new drug, Loxo Oncology, affects a specific type of mutation - the TRK-fused gene. It leads to the development of various types of cancer: sarcoma, thyroid cancer, non-small cell lung cancer and other types.

Conducted drug tests in humans showedpositive results. At the last meeting of the European Society of Medical Oncology, Loxo Oncology stated that among the 109 patients treated with this drug as part of research, 81 percent showed a general positive trend in treatment - the size of cancer tumors decreased. At the same time, in 17 percent of cases, patients had a full positive response - the cancerous tumor completely receded from their body.

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