FDA Approves Drug for Rare Cancer That Killed Steve Jobs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a therapy for a rare type of digestive tract cancer that killed Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011.

The approval for the drug made by French drugmaker Advanced Accelerator Application SA comes three months after Swiss giant Novartis AG agreed to buy the company for $3.9 billion.

The treatment, Lutathera, was approved to treat a type of cancer called gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors that affect the pancreas or gastrointestinal tract.

There are about 6.98 cases of neuroendocrine tumors for every 100,000 people in the United States each year, the company said.

Lutathera, which already has a European approval, harnesses a molecule to diagnose cancer and hits tumors with high-energy electrons.