Pfizer (PFE) Rises On Lung Cancer Drug Approval

Shares of Pfizer (PFE) received a bump on Monday following an approval by the Food & Drug Administration of its lung cancer drug XALKORI® (crizotinib).

The world’s drugmaker received approval Friday after U.S. markets were closed, making it the only authorized producer of a positive small cell lung cancer drug or more specifically the first-ever therapy targeting anaplastic lymphoma kinase.

Since XALKORI targets such a specific form of disease, the demographic is only about 5 percent of small lung cell cancer patients, however, that still represents about 9,000 people.  In several studies, more than half of patients taking the drug saw improvement and the shrinking of tumors.

The drug does come at a steep cost with Pfizer estimating a monthly cost of $9,600 and treatment duration of 22 to 36 weeks.  However, the company said it is working toward covering copayments that are more than $100 and will give the drug for free to eligible patients that are not insured.

“Overall, lung cancer is responsible for more deaths each year worldwide than any other type of cancer. XALKORI is an advance in the treatment of this devastating illness, providing a new therapeutic option for a subset of patients with the disease,” said President and CEO Ian Read.

Shares of Pfizer are trading about 3.5 percent higher to $18.82 in late morning action.