Diplomat gets distribution of Novartis’s new cancer drug

Diplomat Pharmacy will distribute Novartis’s newly approved breast cancer drug Kisqali (ribociclib) as a first-line treatment for postmenopausal women with a serious form of the disease.

FDA on Tuesday approved Novartis’s breast cancer drug in combination with an aromatase inhibitor as initial endocrine-based therapy for treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 negative (HR+/HER2-) advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second most common cancer among American women, with more than 315,000 diagnoses expected in 2017.