FDA Approves Cancer Fighting Drug

The FDA has approved a new drug, Imlygic, which uses the herpes virus to treat skin cancer tumors. 

The drug, produced by Amgen Inc., is an injectible drug approved to attack melanoma tumors that can not be surgically removed. The herpes virus works as a Trojan horse of sorts. After being injected directly into the tumor, the herpes virus in the drug infiltrates the cancer cells and rupturing them. It them triggers an increased immune response to the simplex herpes virus (the strain that causes mouth sores). 

According to studies performed by Amgen, 16% of patients injected with the drug saw their tumors shrink, compared to the 2% that were given traditional cancer treating medication. Amgen suggest patients be tested for at least 6 months, or until all tumors are gone. 

“Advanced melanoma remains a complex disease to treat, requiring the use of several modalities over the course of a patient’s therapeutic journey,” said Howard L. Kaufman, M.D., the principal investigator for the pivotal trial (OPTiM), assoociate director for Clinical Science at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and president of the Society of Immunotherapy of Cancer in an Amgen press release. “Imlygic has a unique approach, and provdes another option for treating eligible patients with unresectable disease has recurred after initial surgery.”

Amgen predicts the average cost of this treatment to be approximately $65,000.