Singapore: US Food and Drug Administration has approved Eli Lilly's ramucirumab (Cyramza) for use in combination with Folfiri, chemotherapy regimen for colorectal cancer, for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Ramucirumab is a recombinant human monoclonal IgG1 antibody that binds to the human vascular endothelial growth factor- receptor 2 (VEGF-R2), preventing the interaction of VEGF-R2 to its ligands.

The approval is based on the results of a randomized, double-blind, multinational trial enrolling patients with mCRC that progressed during or within 6 months of discontinuation of bevacizumab-, oxaliplatin- and fluoropyrimidine-based combination chemotherapy.