AstraZeneca and Merck Win Approvals for Lynparza in Japan
AstraZeneca’s and Merck’s Lynparza (olaparib) has been approved in Japan for treating three types of advanced cancer.
The blockbuster cancer drug has been cleared by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for use as a maintenance treatment after first-line chemotherapy containing bevacizumab in patients with homologous recombination repair-deficient ovarian cancer, treatment of patients with BRCA gene-mutated castration-resistant prostate cancer with distant metastasis and maintenance treatment after platinum-based chemotherapy for patients with BRCA gene-mutated curatively unresectable pancreas cancer.
Lynparza is the first poly (ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor approved in Japan for treating those three specific types of cancer. PARP is an enzyme that is involved in a number of cellular processes linked to cancer.