follow up question on my post for "more good news for cancer patients " ponatinib and dostarlimab

[craterlake]

Hi everyone , i posted a link to an article about new cancer treatments which have been discussed on HU before ; -- so my question is ----- ; how long does the process take from experimenting /trials to actually being prescribed for any of us who need them for secondary cancers .. ???? i am personally doing well on my O&V treatments .. a big thanks to all of you who have helped me and my family get through a difficult 2 years .. 👍😊🙏 ---blessings , james

[cajunjeff]

i can give you a non expert educated guess. In general, I think it takes 6 to 12 years of testing to get a cancer drug to market. There are many variables. It can be a couple years of preclinical testing, then a couple years for each of the three phases. The more rare the cancer, the harder it is to fill clinical trials.

As we saw with covid, though, some drugs and vaccines received accelerated approvals within just a couple years due to there being an unmet need, another way of saying there were no alternative therapies to try. Cancer drugs can get accelerated approvals as well.

Without knowing what secondary cancer you are talking about, I think your question would be hard to answer. If the drugs are in phase two or phase three trials for any cancer with an unmet need, approval for breakthrough therapy could happen fast. If the drug is in preclinical studies, approval could be 10 years or more out

Another option would be to enroll in a clinical trial testing the drug. That’s how most people get early access to promising drugs not yet approved.

[craterlake in reply to cajunjeff]

thanks canjunjeff . applying to a trial is a good idea .