Alimta is Available for Mesothelioma Patients

Eli Lilly & Co.'s new drug ALIMTA, also called Pemetrexed, is available on an expanded access use for patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma is a cancer associated with exposure to asbestos.

Positive Results

Eli Lilly reported that the results of a Phase III trial indicated that patients treated with Alimta and cisplatin combined lived longer, and experienced less pain and shortness of breath, than patients treated with cisplatin alone. In fact, according to Eli Lilly, mesothelioma tumors shrunk in 41% of patients given Alimta.

Click Here to Read Trial Details
Click Here to Read About Alimta v. Taxotere and Side Effects
Click Here for an Interview from the Doctor who Supervised the Trial

Medication Given Free of Charge

Under the expanded access program, Alimta will be provided free of charge to patients who meet medical eligibility requirements. For more information on the expanded access program, physicians may call 1-866-347-9503 (patients are asked to work through their physicians). Patients may call 1-800-362-1479 for more information.

Clinical Trial Locations and Information

Various hospitals across the country are recruiting patients to participate in Alimta clinical trials. For clinical trial locations and additional information, please complete the form below.

Click Here for Alimta Clinical Trials

How does Alimta work?

Alimta is an antifolate. Doctors who studied the spread of cancer noted that folic acid seemed to increase the spread of cancer cells and tumor growth. Doctor theorized that drugs that would interfere with folic acid production in the body would reduce the spread of cancer and result in tumor shrinkage. Alimta is a drug that interferes with and inhibits the creation of folic acid which, in turn, stops the body from using folic acid to make more cancerous cells.

In medical terms, Alimta "targets the folic acid metabolic pathway, which effects availability of certain B complex vitamins." Simply stated, this means that Alimta prevents the body from making folic acid, which in turn significantly reduces the spread of mesothelioma cancer and the growth of tumors.