FDA approves AstraZeneca/Merck's PARP inhibitor Lynparza to treat prostate cancer

AstraZeneca and Merck announced that the FDA has approved its PARP inhibitor Lynparza (olaparib) for the treatment of patients with homogenous resusandive (HRR) gene mutations, and the progression of the disease after treatment with Xtandi (enzalute) or Zytigrone (mCRPCPC)approval was based on the results of the Phase III PROfound study, which was reported at last year's European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) meeting, which showed that Lynparza reduced the risk of progression or death by 66 percent and improved the median survival without progression by 7.4 months, compared with 3.6 months for Xtandi or ZytigaAstraZeneca and Merck also recently reported other results from PROfound, showing that PARP inhibitors also significantly improved overall survival in patients with BRCA1/2 or ATM gene mutations (a subgroup of HRR gene mutations) compared to hormone therapyDave Fredrickson, executive vice president ofAstraZeneca Oncology, said: 'This is the first time Lynparza has been approved in the field of prostate cancerHe added that the results of the PROfound study 'further demonstrate that genomic testing of HRR mutations should be a key step in diagnosing men with advanced prostate cancer and determining treatment options.'earlier this month, the FDA approved a combination of Lynparza and Roche Avastin to treat adult patients with positive advanced ovarian cancer with homologous recombination defects