Taxol Approved for Kaposi's Sarcoma

On August 5 Bristol-Myers Squibb announced that the FDA had approved TaxolŽ (paclitaxel) "for use in second-line treatment of AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma." The drug had already been approved for use in cancer treatment.

An independent analysis by Michael Marco of the Treatment Action Group strongly supported the approval, noting that "Taxol as second-line therapy has double the response rate and twice as long duration of response as DaunoXome which is indicated for first-line therapy." [Community Consensus Position Paper Regarding Approval of Bristol-Myers Squibb's NDA for Taxol (Paclitaxel) for Second-Line Treatment of Kaposi's Sarcoma in People with AIDS, July 23, 1997.]