Palbociclib Approved for Post-Menopausal Women With Advanced Breast Cancer

The FDA today granted accelerated approval to Ibrance (palbociclib) to treat advanced (metastatic) breast cancer.

Breast cancer in women is the second most common type of cancer in the United States. It forms in the breast tissue and in advanced cases, spreads to surrounding normal tissue. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 232,670 American women were diagnosed with breast cancer and 40,000 died from the disease in 2014.

Ibrance works by inhibiting molecules, known as cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) 4 and 6, involved in promoting the growth of cancer cells. Ibrance is intended for postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative metastatic breast cancer who have not yet received an endocrine-based therapy. It is to be used in combination with letrozole, another FDA-approved product used to treat certain kinds of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

Link to the FDA press release: http://1.usa.gov/1vr2omD