(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it has expanded the approved use of the cancer drug Nexavar to include late-stage differentiated thyroid cancer.
Differentiated thyroid cancer is the most common type of thyroid cancer, the FDA said. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 60,220 people in the United States will be diagnosed with it and 1,850 will die from the disease in 2013.
The drug, made by Germany’s Bayer AG and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, is already approved to treat advanced kidney cancer and liver cancer that cannot be surgically removed. Onyx was acquired by Amgen Inc earlier this year.
(Reporting by Toni Clarke; Editing by David Gregorio)
- Health
- Disease & Medical Conditions
- thyroid cancer
- National Cancer Institute
- Onyx Pharmaceuticals
