Astrazeneca wins US Orphan status for eye cancer drug

LONDON (ShareCast) - Astrazeneca (NYSE: AZN - news) 's eye cancer treatment, selumetinib, has been given 'orphan drug' status by US regulators, which should smooth its path to full approval. The product would be the first in the world to treat uveal melanoma, in which cancer cells form in eyeball tissue, with studies having found it makes up 5% of all melanomas. "Uveal melanoma is a rare and devastating disease for which there are currently no effective treatment options once it spreads beyond the tissues of the eye," said the company's global head of cancer medicine development, Antoine Yver.

"Selumetinib could potentially become the first effective treatment for these patients. The Orphan Drug designation is an important regulatory advancement." Astrazeneca expects data from a late-stage study into selumetinib in combination with chemotherapy in patients with first-line metastatic uveal melanoma later this year.

The drug is also being investigated in final-phase studies for lung cancer and thyroid cancer and in an earlier stage for children with neurofibromatosis Type 1.

Earlier in the week Astrazeneca gave encouraging updates on two other pipeline products, with an encouraging US regulatory review for a pair of diabetes treatments and granting of 'orphan drug' status for a treatment for mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer often affecting the lungs and abdomen.