Zactima Gets Fast Track Status for Medullary Thyroid Cancer

WILMINGTON, Delaware—AstraZeneca's Zactima (ZD6474) has received FDA fast track designation for the treatment of medullary thyroid cancer. Zactima, a once-daily oral agent, targets tumor cells through inhibition of EGFR and REarranged during Transfection (RET) tyrosine kinases, and tumor blood supply through inhibition of VEGFR tyrosine kinase. Zactima, which also has orphan drug status for medullary thyroid cancer, is currently being evaluated in a phase II clinical trial.