FDA approves injectable prostate cancer treatment

ROCKVILLE, Md. The Food and Drug Administration has approved an injectable drug for treating prostate cancer.

The FDA said in a statement Monday that Ferring Pharmaceuticals' degarelix is the first drug to treat prostate cancer in several years. It belongs to the gonadotropin releasing hormone receptor inhibitor class of drugs, which slow the growth and progression of prostate cancer by suppressing testosterone.

"Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States, and there is an ongoing need for additional treatment options for these patients," said Richard Pazdur, director of the Office of Oncology Drug Products at the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Ferring, based in Parsippany, N.J., has not issued a brand name for the drug.