Pazopanib accepted by FDA as treatment for kidney cancer

GlaxoSmithKline has received FDA approval for pazopanib (Votrient) for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. The FDA's approval of the angiogenesis inhibitor was based on data from a phase III clinical trial, which demonstrated that pazopanib reduced the risk of tumor progression or death by 54% compared with placebo and regardless of prior treatment.

In the trial, the overall median progression-free survival (PFS) was 9.2 months with pazopanib and 4.2 months with placebo. Treatment-nave patients who received the drug experienced 11.1 months of median PFS vs 2.8 months with placebo.