MHRA approves catumaxomab for malignant ascites in adults – Atnahs Pharma UK Limited

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved catumaxomab (Korjuny) to treat malignant ascites in adults when standard treatment of their cancer is no longer feasible.

Malignant ascites is a build-up of fluid containing cancer cells in the abdomen. Patients often need procedures to drain this fluid. Catumaxomab provides a treatment option that can extend the time between patients requiring further drainage.

Catumaxomab is a monoclonal antibody, a type of protein that binds to specific targets on cells. It recognises a protein called epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), which is found on the surface of certain cancer cells, including those in ascitic fluid. It activates cells of the immune system to help destroy these cancer cells.

A main clinical study involved 258 patients with malignant ascites and EpCAM-positive cancer who had no further chemotherapy options or for whom chemotherapy was unsuitable. Patients receiving catumaxomab after paracentesis – a procedure to drain abdominal fluid – did not require further drainage for around 46 days, compared with 11 days for patients treated with paracentesis alone.