Vandetanib: first global approval
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2026

Scaled-Up Preparation of an Intermediate of Upatinib, ACT051-3
Published on: April 7, 2023
Helen Commander1, Glenn Whiteside, Caroline Perry
1RD Insight, Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions, Auckland, New Zealand.
Abstract:
Vandetanib is an orally active antagonist of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor-2 (VEGFR-2), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR or HER1 or ErbB1) and RET kinase, and is now available in the US for the treatment of metastatic medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). Regulatory submissions for this indication have been filed in the EU and Canada, with clinical development in malignant MTC ongoing in several other countries. Vandetanib is being developed by AstraZeneca, and is also in phase II development for biliary, breast and prostate cancer. Earlier, AstraZeneca withdrew regulatory filings for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the US and EU, and later discontinued development. This article summarizes the milestones in the development of vandetanib leading to this first approval in malignant MTC.
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