Inlyta Approval Expands Pfizer Kidney Cancer Options, But With Unique Safety Profile

FDA’s approval of Pfizer Inc.’s oral second generation VEGF inhibitor Inlyta (axitinib) for advanced kidney cancer appears to have been motivated not as much by its superiority in a head-to-head comparison with Bayer HealthCare LLC/Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Nexavar as its safety profile, which was broadly similar to Nexavar’s but oddly complementary in that the toxicities associated with the two drugs were quite different, making it an attractive addition to the armamentarium.

Inlyta’s Jan. 27 clearance for treatment of patients with advanced kidney cancer who have not responded to earlier therapies makes it the seventh drug available to treat renal cell carcinoma...