AstraZeneca Cancer Drug: AstraZeneca Obtains CDSCO Approval for Drug to Treat Bile Duct Cancer | India News
NEW DELHI: pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca India said on Friday it had received approval from the national government drug regulator market a drug to treat bile duct cancer (BTC) in the country.
The company has received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) For Durvalumabthe pharmaceutical company said in a statement.
BTC is a group of rare and aggressive gastrointestinal (GI) cancers that form in cells of the bile ducts (cholangiocarcinoma), gallbladder, or ampulla of Vater (where the bile duct and pancreatic duct connect connect to the small intestine).
Apart from ampullary cancer, early-stage BTC often presents without clear symptoms, and most new cases of BTC are therefore diagnosed at an advanced stage, when treatment options are limited and the prognosis is poor.
More than 30,000 new cases of BTC are seen every year in India, of which 90% are diagnosed at an advanced stage.
“The endorsement underpins our commitment to transforming patient outcomes by harnessing the power of science while addressing unmet needs,” said AstraZeneca India Managing Director and Country President Sanjeev Panchal.
For the past decade, chemotherapy was the only treatment choice and survival rates have been dismal, noted AstraZeneca India’s vice president of medical and regulatory affairs, Anil Kukreja. “This landmark approval now becomes the only immunotherapy-based combination treatment option in the country that offers significantly improved survival rates,” he added.
The company has received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) For Durvalumabthe pharmaceutical company said in a statement.
BTC is a group of rare and aggressive gastrointestinal (GI) cancers that form in cells of the bile ducts (cholangiocarcinoma), gallbladder, or ampulla of Vater (where the bile duct and pancreatic duct connect connect to the small intestine).
Apart from ampullary cancer, early-stage BTC often presents without clear symptoms, and most new cases of BTC are therefore diagnosed at an advanced stage, when treatment options are limited and the prognosis is poor.
More than 30,000 new cases of BTC are seen every year in India, of which 90% are diagnosed at an advanced stage.
“The endorsement underpins our commitment to transforming patient outcomes by harnessing the power of science while addressing unmet needs,” said AstraZeneca India Managing Director and Country President Sanjeev Panchal.
For the past decade, chemotherapy was the only treatment choice and survival rates have been dismal, noted AstraZeneca India’s vice president of medical and regulatory affairs, Anil Kukreja. “This landmark approval now becomes the only immunotherapy-based combination treatment option in the country that offers significantly improved survival rates,” he added.