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Exelixis Announces U.S. FDA Approval of CABOMETYX® (cabozantinib) in Combination with OPDIVO® (nivolumab) as a First-Line Treatment for Patients with Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma
– FDA approval based on CheckMate -9ER trial, in which the combination of CABOMETYX and OPDIVO significantly improved overall survival while doubling

About this update from Exelixis, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n– FDA approval based on CheckMate -9ER trial, in which the combination of CABOMETYX and OPDIVO significantly improved overall survival while doubling progression-free survival and objective response rate versus sunitinib as a first-line treatment for patients with advanced RCC –\n\n– Exelixis prepared to fully support expanded indication immediately –\n\n– Application approved prior to Prescription Drug User Fee Act action date of February 20, 2021 and reviewed under the Real-Time Oncology Review pilot program –\n\n ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nExelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXEL) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved CABOMETYX® (cabozantinib) for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) as a first-line treatment in combination with OPDIVO® (nivolumab). RCC is the most common form of kidney cancer, which is among the 10 most frequently diagnosed cancers in the U.S. annually.1\n\n“This combination of cabozantinib and nivolumab significantly improved key efficacy measures compared to sunitinib – progression-free survival, overall survival and objective response rate – while showing a low rate of treatment discontinuations due to side effects. The therapeutic benefit demonstrated in CheckMate -9ER and quality of life measures explored emphasize the role of this combination for patients with advanced kidney cancer,” said Dr. Toni Choueiri, Director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jerome and Nancy Kohlberg Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “With this important FDA approval, the combination is poised to become a standard in newly diagnosed metastatic kidney cancer.”\n\nThe approval is based on results from CheckMate -9ER, a phase 3 pivotal trial evaluating the combination of CABOMETYX and OPDIVO compared with sunitinib in previously untreated advanced or metastatic RCC. These results were presented during the European Society of Medical Oncology Virtual Congress 2020 in September. The FDA reviewed the application for CABOMETYX and OPDIVO under the Real-Time Oncology Review (RTOR) pilot program and Fast Track designation. The RTOR pilot program, which allows an applicant to pre-submit components of the application to allow the FDA to review clinical trial data before the complete filing is submitted, aims to explore a mor...