By Razak Musah Baba
LONDON--AstraZeneca PLC's (AZN.LN) selumetinib drug has been
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of
Uveal melanoma, a rare eye disease.
The biopharmaceutical firm said Friday that the FDA has granted
Orphan Drug Designation for the MEK inhibitor selumetinib, for the
treatment of uveal melanoma, a rare disease in which cancer cells
form in the tissues of the eye.
The Orphan Drug Designation program provides orphan status to
drugs and biologics, which are defined as those intended for the
safe and effective treatment, diagnosis or prevention of rare
diseases or disorders that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the
U.S.
AstraZeneca acquired exclusive worldwide rights to selumetinib
from Array BioPharma Inc in 2003.
Write to Razak Musah Baba at razak.baba@wsj.com; Twitter:
@Raztweet
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires