The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved Servier Pharmaceuticals’ vorasidenib (Voranigo) to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older with certain types of brain tumors, known as grade 2 astrocytoma or oligodendroglioma with a susceptible isocitrate dehydrogenase mutation (IDH1 or IDH2).
Astrocytoma or oligodendroglioma with an IDH mutation is a type of brain tumor that starts in the glial cells of the brain and has a specific genetic mutation in the IDH1 or IDH2 genes. This mutation changes how the cells grow and can lead to an overproduction of a substance called 2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG), which promotes tumor growth.
By blocking these proteins, Voranigo, an IDH1 and IDH2 inhibitor, stops the abnormal production of 2 HG which helps to slow or stop the cancer from growing. The drug offers glioma patients the ability to actively manage their disease with the convenience of a once-daily pill.
The U.S. FDA approved the drug in August 2024 for patients 12 years and older with Grade 2 astrocytoma or oligodendroglioma with a susceptible IDH1 or IDH2 mutation following surgery including biopsy, sub-total resection, or gross total resection.