Takeda and Millennium receive conditional cancer drug approval

Takeda and its oncology-focused subsidiary Millennium have been granted a conditional marketing authorisation for its cancer therapy Adcetris from the European Commission.

The drug has been approved for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory CD30-positive Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as for relapsed or refractory systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

Granting of this conditional marketing authorisation means Takeda will need to fulfil specific obligations to provide additional clinical data to confirm the positive benefit-risk balance of Adcetris at a later date.

The first European launches of the new drug are expected to take place in the coming weeks, making it the first targeted treatment for relapsed or refractory CD30-positive Hodgkin lymphoma to be released in more than 30 years.

Trevor Smith, head of commercial operations for Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Europe and Canada, said: "The European conditional marketing authorisation of brentuximab vedotin represents a significant step in Takeda's oncology franchise commitment to developing innovative medicines that make a real difference to patients' lives."

Last month, the company expanded the scope of its business further through the acquisition of LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals, developer of a promising new vaccine for norovirus gastroenteritis.