The French pharmaceutical company Servier has received registration certificate from the Russian Ministry of Health for its drug Lonsurf (trifluridine / tipiracil). The medication is approved for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer and metastatic gastric cancer, according to the manufacturer’s statement.
“Trifluridine / tipiracil is a new treatment option for metastatic colorectal cancer and metastatic gastric cancer in the third and subsequent lines of therapy. Despite certain progress, for patients with these diagnoses considered unfit for intensive treatment, options remains limited. Lonsurf opens up new opportunities for this group,” noted Yunona Khomitskaya, Servier’s Medical Director.
Lonsurf is an oral anticancer drug, a combination of trifluridine and tipiracil: trifluridine is incorporated into DNA, interferes with DNA synthesis, and inhibits cell proliferation. Tipiracil increases trifluridine exposure by inhibiting its metabolism. The drug is a joint development of Servier and Japan’s Taiho Pharmaceutical. The companies entered into an agreement for the co-development and commercialization of Lonsurf in 2015. To date, the drug has been approved in Japan, the USA, the EU, and other countries.