The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Health and Prevention approved the registration and use of lung cancer drug Lumakras, following its approval by the US Food and Drug Administration, the official WAM reported Saturday.

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“This will provide lung cancer patients early access to this innovative drug to help speed up their treatment plan and improve the quality of their life,” WAM said.

According to WAM, Lumakras, developed by American biopharmaceutical company Amgen, is a film-coated tablet for oral use containing 120mg of Sotorasib, and is prescribed to adults with KRAS G12C-mutated locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), who have received at least one previous cancer therapy.

The UAE’s health ministry is keen to further consolidate the country’s position in the global pharmaceutical market, Mohammed Salim al-Olama, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Prevention and Head of Board of Directors of the Emirates Health Services said.

The flexible legislative environment of the UAE has stimulated the global pharmaceutical companies to choose the country as a hub for marketing and promoting their new and innovative products, which gives solutions to patients in the country and region, al-Olama added.

“We are extremely proud of the UAE’s approval for Lumakras drug, making it the second country in the world after the USA that approves and licenses the medicine,” the country manager of Amgen in the GCC, Ahmed Mostafa, was quoted by WAM as saying.