In a recent press release, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson have announced that they have received approval from Health Canada for BALVERSA™ (erdafitinib), the first FGFR Kinase inhibitor for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma with certain FGFR genetic alterations. Health Canada has approved the therapy on the condition that Janssen Inc. carries out a confirmatory trial to verify the clinical benefit of BALVERSA.
“This is good news for our patients. It is important to highlight that this treatment is only for patients with advanced disease that has progressed after one line of chemotherapy and for patients who have tumors with FGFR 2 or 3 genetic alterations,” says Dr. Srikala Sridhar Bladder Cancer Canada’s Medical Advisory Board Vice Chair. “This treatment is not for everyone, and tumor testing still needs to be done to establish FGFR alteration status.”
“Diagnostic testing for patients with bladder cancer allows healthcare professionals to offer patients more personalized treatment approaches,” said Dr. Scott North, Professor, Department of Oncology, University of Alberta in the recent release. “This is an important step forward when determining the right therapy for the right patient. This subset of patients with urothelial carcinoma have had limited treatment options up until now, so this approval is welcome news.” For more information on Janssen and the work that they are doing with BALVERSA, please click here to read their press release.
As always, we encourage members of our community to speak to their medical team about this treatment and eligibility. If you have recently been diagnosed with bladder cancer and require support, please send us an email at info@bladdercancercanada.org or call us at 1-866-674-8889.
