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# PharmaMar Gains Orphan Status for Lung Cancer Therapy
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/pharmamar-gains-orphan-status-for-lung-cancer-therapy/
- Published: 2018-08-03T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T00:23:41.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5142033

FDA has granted PharmaMar an orphan drug designation for lurbinectedin and its use in treating small cell lung cancer. Lurbinectedin is described by the company as an inhibitor of RNA polymerase II, an enzyme that is essential for the transcription process that is over-activated in tumors with transcription addiction. Small cell lung cancer is very aggressive, and comprise about about 18% of all lung cancer cases. Annually in the U.S., more than new 34,000 new cases are diagnosed every year.