Targeted drugs for advanced pancreatic cancer

As we all know, pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult malignant tumors to treat clinically. According to reports, newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer patients account for 2% of new cancers in the United States each year. Clinically, the early detection rate of pancreatic malignant lesions is extremely low, and the surgical treatment of pancreatic cancer is more difficult than other malignant tumors. The prognosis is not optimistic. Only 25% of patients can continue to survive with the help of the standard chemotherapy drug gemcitabine.

Gemcitabine is a new type of cytosine nucleoside derivative that came out in the 20th century. After being successfully developed by Eli Lilly and Company of the United States, it was first launched in Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland and South Africa in 1995. On May 15, 1996, it was approved by the FDA for the treatment of pancreatic cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. The injectable drug is sold in the US market under the trade name Gemzar. The FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee recommends it for the treatment of advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer.
After years of market cultivation by original drug manufacturers, Gemzar started quickly and became a blockbuster drug in 2008. However, after the expiration of the patent and the launch of generic drugs, the market inevitably began to decline. According to IMS data, Eli Lilly's Gemzar sales in 2011 had dropped to US$452 million.