The FDA has approved Lynparaza for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer.
The drug belongs to a class of medications known as PARP inhibitors, which help block what is left of the DNA repair mechanism so cancer cells are unable to replicate and a tumor cannot sustain itself.
The drug is approved as a first-line maintenance therapy for adult patients with BRCA-mutated pancreatic adenocarcinoma whose disease has spread beyond the pancreas and whose tumors didn't worsen after 16 weeks of chemotherapy.
Lynparaza, manufactured by AstraZeneca and Merck, already is approved for ovarian and breast cancers.
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