U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted approval to Turalio (pexidartinib) capsules for the treatment of adult patients with symptomatic tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT) associated with severe morbidity or functional limitations and not responsive to improvement with surgery. Pexidartinib is indicated at 400mg taken orally twice daily on an empty stomach at least 1 hour before or 2 hours after a meal or snack, available in 200mg tablets.
TGCT is a rare tumor that affects the synovium (thin layer of tissue that covers the surfaces of the joint spaces) and tendon sheaths (layer of membrane that covers tendons, which are fibrous tissue that connect muscle to bone).
The tumor is rarely malignant but causes the synovium and tendon sheaths to thicken and overgrow, causing damage to surrounding tissue.
The FDA granted this application Breakthrough Therapy designation and Priority Review designation. Turalio also received Orphan Drug designation, which provides incentives to assist and encourage the development of drugs for rare diseases.
The FDA granted the approval of Turalio to Daiichi Sankyo.
The prescribing information for Turalio includes a Boxed Warning to advise health care professionals and patients about the risk of serious and potentially fatal liver injury. Health care professionals should monitor liver tests prior to beginning treatment and at specified intervals during treatment. If liver tests become abnormal, Turalio may need to be withheld, the dose reduced, or permanently discontinued, depending on the severity of the liver injury.
Turalio is available only through the Turalio Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS)Program
