Diplomat Pharmacy to offer therapy for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer

Diplomat Pharmacy Inc. on Monday announced it will offer IRESSA (gefitinib), which was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as a first-line therapy for a specific type of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

"We are excited to be able to offer select patients diagnosed with metastatic NSCLC another first-line treatment opportunity through IRESSA," Gary Kadlec, president of Diplomat, said. "IRESSA tablets can be taken with or without food, offering an important option to help meet patients' needs."

IRESSA is a once-daily oral medication that targets and blocks the activity of epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase, an enzyme that regulates the intracellular signaling pathways involved in cancer cell proliferation and survival. It is intended for the treatment of patients whose tumors express the most common types of EGFR mutations in NSCLC.

According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 221,200 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year, and 158,040 will die from the disease. NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer. Mutations in the EGFR gene are present in about 10 percent of NSCLC tumors.

EGFR is a protein found in abnormally high levels on the surface of many types of cancer cells, particularly NSCLC cells. A patient's EGFR mutation status can be confirmed by diagnostic testing using a sample of tumor tissue.

AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries; its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide.