In 2020, the FDA approved 17 novel drugs for cancer, meaning agents with active ingredients not previously greenlighted in the United States and not new indications or combinations of approved drugs (see http://www.fda.gov/) (Fig. 1). The agency also OK'd the chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy brexucabtagene autoleucel (Tecartus; Gilead) for mantle cell lymphoma. Despite concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic would hinder the FDA's work, the agency almost matched its high watermark for novel cancer agents approved in a single year. In addition, the agency authorized the use of several cancer therapeutics for new indications. For example, avelumab (Bavencio; EMD Serono), approved for Merkel cell carcinoma in 2017, can now be used for urothelial carcinoma, and olaparib (Lynparza; AstraZeneca), greenlighted in 2014 for ovarian cancer, can now be prescribed for prostate cancer.
Novel drugs approved by the FDA, 2011-2020.
- ©2021 American Association for Cancer Research.
This OnlineFirst version was published on March 2, 2021
doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-NB2021-0318
