Amgen Submits Lung Cancer Drug for European Approval

Amgen Inc. last week announced it has submitted for approval from the European Medicines Agency its drug used to treat a mutation of non-small cell lung cancer.The Thousand Oaks biopharma company said that sotorasib will be used to treat adult patients with previously treated KRAS G12C-mutated locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. The company submitted the drug to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration earlier this month.Dr. David Reese, executive vice president of research and development, said that just over two years after the first patient received the experimental drug, sotorasib is on track to be the first approved therapy for patients with the KRAS 12C mutation.“With this submission to EMA, Amgen is continuing to rapidly advance the KRAS G12C inhibitor clinical program to bring this innovative potential therapy to patients globally as quickly as possible,” Reese said in a statement.The company made the announcement of its submission on Dec. 22. Shares of Amgen (AMGN) closed up Thursday $2.75, or 1.2 percent, to $229.92 on the Nasdaq, on a day when that market closed up a fraction of a percent.