Lenvatinib rolled out to Israel

Lenvatinib, a treatment for radioactive iodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer, is to be distributed in Israel.

According to Eisai, which discovered and developed the therapy, advanced thyroid cancer is hard to treat and patients usually receive a poor prognosis.

As a result, it believes lenvatinib represents an important step forward for patients in Israel.

Lenvatinib is an oral molecular tri-specific targeted therapy that possesses a potent selectivity and a binding mode different to other tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). 

By inhibiting the activities of several different molecules at the same time, Eisai believes it is the first tyrosine kinase inhibitor that simultaneously inhibits the kinase activities of FGFR 1-4 and VEGFR 1-3.

Dr Aron Popovtzer, who leads the Head and Neck Tumor Unit and Rabin's Beilinson Hospital in Israel, commented: "Lenvatinib has a proven progression-free survival benefit versus placebo, which means patients may now have more time with their loved ones before their cancer progresses, something we know is very important for people with an advanced cancer."