Which company does Erdafitinib come from?

Erdafitinib (Erdafitinib) is an anti-cancer drug with the trade nameBalversa. It is a small molecule inhibitor of the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) used to treat cancer. FGFRs are a subset of tyrosine kinases that are unregulated in some tumors and affect tumor cell differentiation, proliferation, angiogenesis, and cell survival. Astex Pharmaceuticals discovered the drug and licensed it to Janssen Pharmaceuticals for further development.

In March 2018, erdafitinib received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of urothelial cancer. In April 2019, erdafitinib was approved by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic or locally advanced bladder cancer with FGFR3 or FGFR2 alterations. Its progress has exceeded that of traditional platinum-based treatments and confirmatory trials are pending. The FDA considers it a first-in-class drug. At the same time, the FDA also approved the therascreen FGFR RGQ RT-PCR Kit (Qiagen) for use with erdafitinib as an auxiliary diagnostic to select patients for indicated treatment.

The original version of erdafitinib has not yet been launched in China, so it cannot be covered by medical insurance. The original version of erdafitinib currently sold in Hong Kong may cost more than 20,000 yuan per box of specifications 4mg*14 tablets (the price may fluctuate due to exchange rates). Cheaper erdafitinib generic drugs produced by other pharmaceutical factories are also sold overseas. The pharmaceutical ingredients are basically the same as those of the original drug. For example, the price of 4mg*60 tablets produced by a Bangladeshi pharmaceutical factory may be more than 3,000 yuan per box (the price may fluctuate due to exchange rates).