Originally approved in 2005 for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (a form of kidney cancer) - Nexavar® (sorafenib) has recently been approved by the FDA for use in patients with a form of liver cancer known as hepatocellular carcinoma - when the cancer is inoperable.

According to Robert Justice, M.D., director of FDA's division of drug oncology products:

"In a randomized clinical trial, the group of patients with inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma who received Nexavar survived 2.8 months longer than the group of patients who didn't receive the drug.

This is an important new treatment option for patients who are fighting this very difficult form of cancer."

Manufactured by Bayer HealthCare AG (Leverkusen, Germany) for Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation (West Haven, Connecticut) and by Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Emeryville, California) - Nexavar® (sorafenib) - is a type of anticancer drug called a kinase inhibitor that interferes with molecules that are thought to be involved in chemical messages sent within cancer cells, in the formation of blood vessels that supply tumors, and in cell death.

Find more details from the FDA News.

[Photo Credit: EurekAlert]