BMS Breast Cancer Drug Gets On Fast Track

The FDA has granted fast track status to Bristol-Myers Squibb‘s ixabepilone, an epothilone B analog. Ixabepilone has been submitted as a monotherapy to treat patients with metastatic or locally advanced breast cancer after failure of an anthracycline, a taxane, and capecitabine and in combination with capecitabine to treat patients with metastatic or locally advanced breast cancer after failure of an anthracycline and a taxane.

The company remarked that there are few proven treatment options available to patients with breast cancer whose disease has rapidly progressed through or whose disease is not responding to prior treatment with chemotherapies (anthracycline and taxane).