Sorafenib

Sorafenib (rINN), marketed as Nexavar by Bayer, is a drug approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (primary kidney cancer). It has also received "Fast Track" designation by the FDA^[1] for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (primary liver cancer), and has since performed well in Phase III trials^[2].

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Pharmacology

It is a small molecular inhibitor of Raf kinase, PDGF (platelet-derived growth factor), VEGF receptor 2 & 3 kinases and c Kit the receptor for Stem cell factor. A growing number of drugs target most of these pathways. The originality of Sorafenib lays in its simultaneous targeting of the Raf/Mek/Erk pathway.^[3]

Approval

Sorafenib was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 20, 2005 and received a E.U. marketing authorisation on July 19, 2006^[4].

The European Commission has granted marketing authorization to Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer, on October 30, 2007. ^[5].

Studies

A New England Journal of Medicine article published in January 2007 showed compared with placebo, treatment with sorafenib prolongs progression-free survival in patients with advanced clear-cell renal-cell carcinoma in whom previous therapy has failed; the median progression-free survival was 5.5 months in the sorafenib group and 2.8 months in the placebo group (hazard ratio for disease progression in the sorafenib group, 0.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.35 to 0.55; P<0.01). The first interim analysis of overall survival in May 2005 showed that sorafenib reduced the risk of death, as compared with placebo (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.94; P=0.02), although this benefit was not statistically significant according to the O'Brien–Fleming threshold. Partial responses were reported as the best response in 10% of patients receiving sorafenib and in 2% of those receiving placebo (P<0.001).

At ASCO 2007, results from the SHARP trial were presented, which showed efficacy of sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma. The primary endpoint was overall survival, which showed a 44% improvement in patients who received sorafenib compared to placebo (hazard ratio 0.69; 95% CI, 0.55 to 0.87; p=0.0001). Both median survival and time to progression showed 3-month improvements.

Regulatory filing is planned.

Side effects

Side effects of sorafenib included skin rash, hand-foot skin reactions, diarrhea, and hypertension.

• [http:/mpablog.typepad.com/david_foster] Two year experience blog on nexavar, sutent, side effects, etc.