FDA approves expansion of cancer drug use

Welireg (belzutifan), a Merck drug co-developed by researchers at Dallas-based UT Southwestern Medical Center, gained a new approval Dec. 14.

Based on work that began in the 1990s, UT Southwestern researchers "solved the HIF-2α protein structure, pinpointing a potential vulnerability" in the gene, according to a news release from the medical center. 

The researchers then formed Peloton Therapeutics to develop and test belzutifan. Merck acquired Peloton in 2019, and the FDA approved the drug for a familial kidney cancer condition in 2021. About two years later, the approved label grew to include anyone with advanced renal cell carcinoma — the most common type of kidney cancer.

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