AstraZeneca submits NDA for cancer drug

WILMINGTON, Del. Anglo-Swedish drug maker AstraZeneca has applied for approval for a new cancer drug, the company announced Thursday.

AstraZeneca said it submitted a new drug application to the Food and Drug Administration for the investigational drug vandetanib in the 100 mg strength. The drug is designed for use in combination with chemotherapy for treating advanced non-small cell lung cancer in patients previously treated with one prior anti-cancer therapy. If the drug is approved, the company will market it under the brand name Zactima.

“Lung cancer is an area of high unmet need, and these submissions are an important step toward potentially broadening the treatment options available for patients,” AstraZeneca chief medical officer Howard Hutchinson said in a statement.