American regulators have given the green light for the wider usage of an ovarian cancer drug.
Sold by AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) and Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK), Lynparza will now be prescribed to patients with recurrent ovarian cancer who have responded to platinum-based chemotherapy.
The US Food & Drug Administration also agreed a switch to two-tablets a day from the current eight capsules regimen.
Lynparza was initially approved to be given to women with advanced ovarian cancer who had stopped responding to three rounds of chemotherapy.
PARP inhibitor
It is one of a class of drugs called PARP inhibitors which prevent cancer cells from repairing damaged DNA, causing them to die.
"Physicians have almost three years of clinical experience with Lynparza on the market and we are now pleased to bring this important medicine, in a new tablet formulation, to a broader group of women,” said AZ’s Sean Bohen.
“[The] approvals validate more than 10 years of dedicated research behind Lynparza, the world's first PARP inhibitor, which now provides oncologists with the greater flexibility for use in terms of treatment settings.
“It builds on our recently-announced collaboration with Merck, which aims to further increase the number of treatment options available to patients."
Researchers are assessing the potential of using Lynparza to treat pancreatic and prostate cancer.