Lorlatinib/Lorlatinib: Breakthrough Treatment for Lung Cancer

Lorlatinib/lorlatinib (Lorlatinib), also known as lorlatinib, represents a new generation of targeted therapy drugs. It is a third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that specifically targets anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and receptor tyrosine kinase C-ROS oncogene 1 (ROS1).

In previous treatments, traditionalALK/ROS TKIs faced some key limitations. Chief among these is their insufficient ability to respond to acquired resistance mutations in the ALK or ROS1 genes (particularly ALK G1202R and ROS1 G2032R), although this is not the only resistance mechanism. In addition, these drugs are often insufficiently effective in treating CNS metastases, largely due to obstruction by the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

In order to overcome these limitations, lorlatinib came into being. Compared with the previous generation ALK/ROS1 TKIs, lorlatinib has stronger penetration into the blood-brain barrier and higher selectivity, so its effect is more significant. This unique advantage led to Lorlatinib receiving Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April 2017. Just one year later, in September 2018, Japan took the lead in approving lorlatinib for the treatment of patients with ALK-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer. In view of its excellent efficacy in clinical trials, lorlatinib was subsequently formally approved by the FDA and is expected to play an increasingly important role in the future treatment field.

In the domestic market, the original drug is marketed as lorlatinib tablets, and is available in two common specifications: 25 mg 90 tablets and 100 mg 30 tablets. However, its price is relatively high, probably between 10,000 and 20,000 yuan per box. For the Hong Kong original research version, the price is as high as 30,000 to 50,000 yuan (the price may change due to exchange rate fluctuations).