Australian biopharmaceutical company Specialised Therapeutics Australia (STA) and Helsinn, a Swiss group focused on building quality cancer care, announce that the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has approved Akynzeo for the prevention of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting associated with initial and repeat courses of moderately and highly emetogenic cancer chemotherapy.

Akynzeo is the first approved fixed dose combination oral agent that targets two critical signalling pathways associated with CINV by combining netupitant, an NK1 receptor antagonist, and palonosetron, a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, in a single capsule for the prevention of CINV.

“Cancer patients are burdened with having to take multiple drugs, often several times per day and certainly multiple times per cycle of chemotherapy, to reduce unwanted side effects. With every increased drug/schedule there is an increased risk of mistakes and/or non-compliance,” said Professor Dorothy Keefe, Clinical Ambassador, Transforming Health and Professor of Cancer Medicine, University of Adelaide. “The availability of this combination of drugs, in a single capsule, allows ‘once per cycle’ dosing (which is even better than once per day dosing) for the benefit of the patient.”

For more details, go to: http://www.specialisedtherapeutics.com.au/index.php?q=may-2015-tga-approves-akynzeo-netupitantpalonosetron-for-the-prevention-of-chemotherapy-induced-nausea-and-vomiting-cinv.html