FDA approves pafolacianine for identifying malignant ovarian cancer lesions

On November 29, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved pafolacianine (Cytalux, On Target Laboratories, LLC), an optical imaging agent, for adult patients with ovarian cancer as an adjunct for interoperative identification of malignant lesions. Pafolacianine is a fluorescent drug that targets folate receptor which may be overexpressed in ovarian cancer. It is used with a Near-Infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging system cleared by the FDA for specific use with pafolacianine.

Efficacy was evaluated in a single arm, multicenter, open-label study (NCT03180307) of 178 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer or with high clinical suspicion of ovarian cancer scheduled to undergo primary surgical cytoreduction, interval debulking, or recurrent ovarian cancer surgery. All patients received pafolacianine. One hundred and thirty-four patients received fluorescence imaging evaluation in addition to standard of care evaluation which includes pre-surgical imaging, intraoperative palpation and normal light evaluation of lesions. Among these patients, 36 (26.9%) had at least one evaluable ovarian cancer lesion detected with pafolacianine that was not observed by standard visual or tactile inspection. The patient-level false positive rate of pafolacianine with NIR fluorescent light with respect to the detection of ovarian cancer lesions confirmed by central pathology was 20.2% (95% CI 13.7%, 28.0%).

The most common adverse reactions (≥1%) occurring in patients were nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, flushing, dyspepsia, chest discomfort, pruritus, and hypersensitivity.

The recommended pafolacianine dose is 0.025 mg/kg administered intravenously over 60 minutes, 1 to 9 hours before surgery. The use of folate, folic acid, or folate-containing supplements should be avoided within 48 hours before administration of pafolacianine.

View full prescribing information for Cytalux.

This application was granted priority review, fast track designation, and orphan drug designation. A description of FDA expedited programs is in the Guidance for Industry: Expedited Programs for Serious Conditions-Drugs and Biologics.

Healthcare professionals should report all serious adverse events suspected to be associated with the use of any medicine and device to FDA’s MedWatch Reporting System or by calling 1-800-FDA-1088.

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