Pfiz­er's CD22-tar­get­ed can­cer drug in­o­tuzum­ab wins an ac­cel­er­at­ed OK at FDA

Pfiz­er’s armed an­ti­body in­o­tuzum­ab ozogam­icin — held up as a top on­col­o­gy con­tender at the phar­ma gi­ant — has just won an ac­cel­er­at­ed ap­proval at the FDA for re­lapsed or re­frac­to­ry B-cell pre­cur­sor acute lym­phoblas­tic leukemia.

The drug is the first to reach the mar­ket which is de­signed to bind to the CD22 anti­gen on B-cells, where it then goes in­to the can­cer cell to de­liv­er a cy­to­tox­ic pay­load of calicheam­icin, de­stroy­ing the cell. Pfiz­er has made a strong push on the can­cer front in re­cent years, as wit­nessed by its rapid-fire ap­proval for its check­point in­hibitor avelum­ab, part­nered with Mer­ck KGaA, and a $14 bil­lion buy­out deal for Medi­va­tion.

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