New York-based Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]) announced that it has simultaneously applied for approval of its lung cancer drug, crizotinib, in the U.S. and Japan, and that the FDA granted it priority review. Crizotinib is the first in a new class of drugs called anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitors, and it is being developed for a subset of patients with ALK-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The goal of priority review is for the FDA to render its verdict within six months, rather than the usual 10. Four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated that crizotinib could bring in $755 million in annual sales by 2015.
Author: Arlene Weintraub
Arlene is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences and technology. She was previously a senior health writer based out of the New York City headquarters of BusinessWeek, where she wrote hundreds of articles that explored both the science and business of health. Her freelance pieces have been published in USA Today, US News & World Report, Technology Review, and other media outlets. Arlene has won awards from the New York Press Club, the Association of Health Care Journalists, the Foundation for Biomedical Research, and the American Society of Business Publication Editors. Her book about the anti-aging industry, Selling the Fountain of Youth, was published by Basic Books in September 2010.
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