The FDA has approved the first new advanced prostate cancer treatment in four years. Degarelix--made by Ferring Pharmaceuticals--is an injectable gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor antagonist. It marks Ferrings first approval for a drug. The FDA is still reviewing potential trade names for degarelix; Ferring will begin marketing degarelix as soon as the FDA makes a decision. The EMEA's CHMP also recommended approving Ferring's injection on December 18th.
"We are enthusiastically preparing to enter this therapeutic area of urology. We respect the challenges physicians and patients face in their fight against prostate cancer and hope that we can help them with this new treatment option. This is a big milestone for the U.S. operating unit, and we have been carefully preparing for over two years for this launch," said Wayne Anderson, President and CEO Ferring Pharmaceuticals, USA.
- here's Ferring's release