US FDA approves J&J's combination therapy for type of lung cancer

(Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ )'s chemotherapy-free combination therapy for patients with a type of non-small cell lung cancer.

The approval allows the use of J&J's cancer drug, Rybrevant, in combination with an older drug, lazertinib, as a first-line treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with a mutated form of a gene called EGFR.

NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer, and the EGFR mutation occurs in 10%-15% of the cases in the United States, according to data from the American Lung Association.



The Food and Drug Administration's decision is based on data from a late-stage study, in which J&J's Rybrevant combination increased the time patients lived without their disease worsening compared to AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN )'s blockbuster drug, Tagrisso.

Tagrisso is currently commonly used as a front-line treatment for NSCLC patients, followed by chemotherapy.

Source: Investing.com