Are ceritinib and ceritinib the same drug?

Introduction: Savotinib and ceritinib are not the same drug. Ceritinib, developed by Novartis, is a drug used to treat non-small cell lung cancer, while ceritinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that targets MET (hepatocyte growth factor receptor) and is suitable for certain types of non-small cell lung cancer and other MET-driven tumors.

Savotinib basic information

The trade name is Voressa, which is a highly specific MET tyrosine kinase inhibitor. It is mainly used to treat adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (MET) exon 14 skipping who have disease progression after platinum-containing chemotherapy or who are intolerant to standard platinum-containing chemotherapy.

On August 29, 2023, Savotinib was included in the Breakthrough Therapy Drug category by the Drug Evaluation Center of the State Drug Administration of China for the treatment of patients with MET-amplified locally advanced or metastatic gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma who have failed at least two lines of standard therapy.

Savotinib mechanism of action

Savotinib is a highly selective MET tyrosine kinase inhibitor. By specifically binding to the MET kinase region, saivotinib effectively inhibits the autophosphorylation of the MET receptor, thereby blocking MET downstream signaling. In addition, by inhibiting the activation of MET receptors, saivotinib can prevent tumor cell proliferation signals driven by the MET signaling pathway and slow down or prevent the growth of tumor cells.

Basic information on ceritinib

Ceritinib was developed by Novartis and was approved for use by the FDA in April 2014. For the treatment of adult patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after failure of prior crizotinib therapy (secondary to resistance or intolerance).

Mechanism of action of ceritinib

Ceritinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that selectively and effectively inhibits anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK). In normal physiology, ALK is a critical step in the development and function of nervous system tissue. However, chromosomal translocations and fusions that generate oncogenic forms of ALK are associated with the progression of NSCLC. Ceritinib inhibits this mutated enzyme and prevents cell proliferation, ultimately halting cancer progression.

It can be seen that ceritinib and ceritinib are two different targeted drugs. ceritinib is a MET inhibitor and is mainly suitable for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) carrying MET abnormalities. Ceritinib is an ALK inhibitor and is mainly used to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with positive ALK gene rearrangements.