Avelumab intravenous infusion in combination with oral axitinib is in clinical development for people with advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma that have not received any prior
treatment. Renal cell carcinoma originates in the tubules of the kidney that filter the blood waste and is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults. Renal cell carcinoma is
advanced when it has spread to regional lymph nodes and is metastatic when the tumour has spread to other parts of the body. Current treatment options are associated with severe
adverse events, and in most patients disease will eventually progress.
Avelumab is a human monoclonal antibody that works by inducing cancer cell death and restoring immune response against cancer cells. Axitinib works by blocking the growth of
blood vessels that supply the cancer cells. Their combined mechanism of actions may result in more effective cancer growth inhibition with manageable toxicity profiles. If licensed,
avelumab in combination with axitinib may offer an additional treatment option for people with advanced renal cell carcinoma that have not been treated previously.
Drugs
February 2019
Daratumumab (subcutaneous injection) for multiple myeloma
Daratumumab injected under the skin (subcutaneous formulation) is in development for the treatment multiple myeloma (MM) as an alternative to currently approved daratumumab intravenous formulation. MM is a rare, incurable cancer of the plasma cells in the bone marrow where large amounts of abnormal plasma cells are produced and interfere with the production of platelets, red and white blood cells. People with MM will experience periods of time without symptoms followed by periods when the illness comes back (‘relapsed’ MM). Eventually the periods without symptoms will shorten and the illness will become immune to the drugs given to treat it (‘refractory’ MM).