The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted accelerated approval to copanlisib for treatment of adults with relapsed follicular lymphoma (FL) who have received at least two prior lines of therapy. Copanlisib is a kinase inhibitor that works by blocking some of the enzymes responsible for cancer cell growth.
The FDA’s decision is based on favorable safety and efficacy results in over 100 patients around the world as part of the CHRONOS-1 clinical trial.
Instead of having to wait years to learn whether a drug actually extends survival for cancer patients, accelerated approval enables the FDA to more quickly approve drugs that fulfill an unmet clinical need for serious conditions. Scientists look to measure surrogate or intermediate clinical endpoints – like tumor shrinkage, for example – that indicate whether a drug is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit.
As a condition of accelerated approval, a randomized control (comparison) trial will be required to verify the clinical benefit of copanlisib before it can move on to help relapsed follicular lymphoma patients whose treatment options are often limited.
New Developments in Lymphoma 