Posted 2 years ago

DESTINY Clinical Trials FDA Approval

Ironwood Cancer & Research Centers are committed to the advancement of medical knowledge and patient care. Medical research has and continues to transform the practice of medicine resulting in a high quality of care we enjoy today. Recently Ironwood Cancer & Research Centers was instrumental in the May 4, 2022, FDA approval of fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (brand name Enhertu) for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who have received a prior anti-HER2-based regimen either in the metastatic setting, or in the neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting and have developed disease recurrence during or within 6 months of completing therapy. The recent FDA approval of the novel breast cancer treatment Enhertu, (an antibody-drug conjugate) is exciting news for both breast cancer patients and Ironwood Cancer & Research Centers.

Antibody-drug conjugates are a novel group of therapeutic agents for the treatment of cancer.

Enhertu is an agent consisting of a monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) and a chemotherapy agent Deruxtecan, which belongs to topoisomerase I inhibitor group. When the antibody finds the target, the chemotherapy agent is released inside the tumor cell, destroying the target cell. Enhertu was previously approved for treatment of Her2/neu positive metastatic breast cancer. Most recently, clinical studies of the DESTINY family were conducted to evaluate the agent activity in metastatic Her2/neu-low breast cancer and advanced Her2/neu positive gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma.

Ironwood Cancer & Research Centers were selected to participate in DESTINY2 and DESTINY3 clinical trials to assist in bringing this promising treatment agent to the community. Clinical studies resulted in the approval of Enhertu for both advanced Her2/neu-low breast cancer and advanced Her2/neu positive gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma.

Lead investigator for the DESINTY clinical trials – Mikhail I. Shtivelband, MD, PhD

To read the official press release click here.

To learn more about Ironwood Cancer & Research Centers research program click here.