Celgene Corp. said Friday it won a new marketing approval for its drug Abraxane. The Food and Drug Administration approved it as a primary treatment for non-small cell lung cancer.
Abraxane was approved in 2005 as a secondary treatment for breast cancer, and Celgene is trying expand its marketing approval. The FDA approved the drug Friday in combination with the chemotherapy drug carboplatin for patients who are not candidates for surgical treatment or radiation therapy.
Shares of Celgene advanced $1.66, or 2.1 percent, to $79.38 in morning trading.
Abraxane was developed by Abraxis Bioscience. Celgene bought Abraxis for $2.9 billion in October 2010. Celgene reported $168 million in U.S. sales of Abraxane over the first six months of 2012. Earlier this month Celgene said the drug slowed the progression of the skin cancer melanoma in a late-stage clinical trial.
Before the end of the year the company will also report data from a study of Abraxane as a treatment for pancreatic cancer.