What type of drug is Alunbrig?
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on May 26, 2020.
Official Answer
by Drugs.comAlunbrig (brigatinib) is an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor used for the treatment of patients with a certain type of lung cancer called ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has spread to other parts of the body (metastasized).
About 85% of patients with lung cancer have non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with 5% of those patients having a mutation in the ALK gene (ALK-positive).
The first ALK inhibitor to be FDA approved was crizotinib (Xalkori) in 2011. Acquired resistance to crizotinib is common (via secondary mutations in the ALK gene), so the second-generation ALK inhibitors (ceritinib, alectinib, brigatinib) were developed to overcome crizotinib resistance.
Alunbrig was first FDA approved in 2017 for patients with ALK-positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer who had progressed on, or were intolerant to crizotinib. In May 2020, this indication was expanded to include Alunbrig as a first-line treatment option for ALK+ NSCLC.
References
ALK inhibitors for non-small cell lung cancer: A systematic review and network meta-analysis
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?type=printable&id=10.1371/journal.pone.0229179 Accessed May 26, 2020
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Drug Information
- Alunbrig Information for Consumers
- Alunbrig Information for Healthcare Professionals (includes dosage details)
- Side Effects of Alunbrig (detailed)
Related Support Groups
- Alunbrig
- Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (24 questions, 60 members)
