Zepzelca and Tecentriq combo approved as first-line maintenance therapy for ES-SCLC

Ireland-based Jazz Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: JAZZ) has announced the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Zepzelca (lurbinectedin) alongside Roche’s (ROG: SIX) Tecentriq (atezolizumab) or atezolizumab and hyaluronidase-tqjs (Tecentriq Hybreza) as a maintenance treatment for adults with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) whose disease has not progressed after first-line induction therapy with atezolizumab, carboplatin and etoposide.

This approval marks the first combination therapy for first-line maintenance treatment of ES-SCLC, a fast-growing and aggressive cancer with limited treatment options.  

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network has updated its clinical practice guidelines in oncology for SCLC to include the Zepzelca and atezolizumab combination as a preferred regimen for patients whose disease has not progressed following four cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy and atezolizumab induction.