Nuvalent Announces FDA Acceptance of New Drug Application for Zidesamtinib for the Treatment of TKI Pre-treated Patients with Advanced ROS1-positive NSCLC

On November 19, 2025 Nuvalent, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUVL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on creating precisely targeted therapies for clinically proven kinase targets in cancer, reported the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing its New Drug Application (NDA) for zidesamtinib, an investigational ROS1-selective inhibitor, for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received at least 1 prior ROS1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). The application has been assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date of September 18, 2026.

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Nuvalent’s NDA submission is based on results for TKI pre-treated patients with advanced ROS1-positive NSCLC enrolled in the global registrational ARROS-1 Phase 1/2 clinical trial. These data were reported along with preliminary data from the ongoing Phase 2 TKI-naïve cohort of ARROS-1, and presented as part of the Presidential Symposium at the IASLC 2025 World Conference on Lung Cancer in September 2025.

About Zidesamtinib and the ARROS-1 Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial
Zidesamtinib is an investigational, novel brain-penetrant ROS1-selective inhibitor created with the aim to overcome limitations observed with currently available ROS1 inhibitors. Zidesamtinib is designed to remain active in tumors that have developed resistance to currently available ROS1 inhibitors, including tumors with treatment-emergent ROS1 mutations such as G2032R. In addition, zidesamtinib is designed for central nervous system (CNS) penetrance to improve treatment options for patients with brain metastases, and to avoid inhibition of the structurally related tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) family. Together, these characteristics have the potential to avoid TRK-related CNS adverse events seen with dual TRK/ROS1 inhibitors and to drive deep, durable responses for patients across all lines of therapy. Zidesamtinib has received breakthrough therapy designation for the treatment of patients with ROS1-positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have been previously treated with 2 or more ROS1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors and orphan drug designation for ROS1-positive NSCLC.

Zidesamtinib is currently being investigated in the ARROS-1 trial (NCT05118789), a first-in-human Phase 1/2 clinical trial for patients with advanced ROS1-positive NSCLC and other solid tumors. The completed Phase 1 portion enrolled ROS1-positive NSCLC patients who previously received at least one ROS1 TKI, or patients with other ROS1-positive solid tumors who had been previously treated. The Phase 1 portion of the trial was designed to evaluate the overall safety and tolerability of zidesamtinib, with additional objectives including determination of the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D), characterization of the pharmacokinetic profile, and evaluation of preliminary anti-tumor activity. The ongoing global, single arm, open label Phase 2 portion is designed with registrational intent for TKI-naïve and TKI pre-treated patients with advanced ROS1-positive NSCLC.

(Press release, Nuvalent, NOV 19, 2025, View Source [SID1234660101])