Amgen announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for investigational bemarituzumab
Bemarituzumab (anti-FGFR2b) is a potential first-in-class investigational targeted antibody that is designed to block fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) from binding and activating FGFR2b, inhibiting several downstream pro-tumor signaling pathways and potentially slowing cancer progression. Bemarituzumab is being developed in gastric and GEJ cancer as a targeted therapy for tumors that overexpress FGFR2b. The company is also evaluating the potential for bemarituzumab in other cancers that overexpress FGFR2b.
Following sotorasib, bemarituzumab is the second asset in Amgen’s oncology portfolio to receive Breakthrough Therapy Designation in the past six months.
A Breakthrough Therapy Designation is designed to expedite the development and regulatory review of medicines that may demonstrate substantial improvement on a clinically significant endpoint over available medicines