UCLA researchers have played a significant role in the development of several major cancer drugs now used worldwide. Their work, often conducted through the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, has contributed to new therapies for breast, prostate, lung, and other cancers.
Herceptin (trastuzumab) was developed by a team led by Dr. Dennis Slamon at UCLA in the 1990s. Before its introduction, women diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer had limited life expectancy. Slamon said, “(W)e wanted to try and study the cancer cell at a molecular level … identify what was broken and find out if we could target that specifically. The hope would be if we could target that specifically, we’d come up with something that was hopefully more effective and safer because normal cells wouldn’t have what was broken, only the cancer cells.” Since becoming available in 1998, Herceptin has benefited millions globally.
In prostate cancer treatment, two drugs originated from UCLA research: Xtandi (enzalutamide) and Erleada (apalutamide). Developed by Michael Jung and Dr. Charles Sawyers at UCLA, Xtandi has helped hundreds of thousands of advanced-stage prostate cancer patients since 2012. Erleada received FDA approval in 2018 after clinical trials showed it extended healthy life before cancer spread. Jung noted, “The phase 3 clinical trial found that Erleada gives men an extra two years of healthy life before their cancer spreads. To give someone an extra two years of healthy life is fabulous.”
Ibrance (palbociclib), another important drug for breast cancer patients with estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) and HER2-negative disease, emerged from research led by Slamon and Dr. Richard Finn at UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center in collaboration with Pfizer. This drug introduced a new class of therapies known as CDK4/6 inhibitors that slow down cell division in certain cancers.
Gleevec (imatinib), approved by the FDA in 2001 for chronic myelogenous leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, can be traced back to discoveries made by Dr. Owen Witte at UCLA regarding tyrosine kinase enzymes.
Slamon’s team also contributed to the development of Kisqali (ribociclib), which treats HR-positive metastatic breast cancer. Results from the NATALEE clinical trial led by Slamon demonstrated that adding ribociclib to endocrine therapy extended time without recurrence for early-stage patients; this led to FDA approval in September 2024.
Keytruda (pembrolizumab) saw expanded use thanks to research by Dr. Antoni Ribas at UCLA who demonstrated its effectiveness against advanced melanoma through large-scale international studies. Subsequent work by Dr. Edward Garon at UCLA supported Keytruda’s approval for advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
Cyramza (ramucirumab) received initial FDA approval for lung cancer after global phase 3 trials including UCLA sites showed improved survival rates among treated patients who had exhausted other options. Garon commented on these results: “It is exciting to see that by adding ramucirumab (Cyramza) to docetaxel, patients were able to live longer than those who were treated with the standard approach… We are pleased to have access to a drug that lengthens survival time in a population of lung cancer patients who often have few treatment options.”
These developments highlight ongoing efforts at UCLA aimed at improving outcomes for people facing various forms of cancer.
