The UK medicines regulator announced on 11 November that it had approved retifanlimab, sold as ZYNYZ, for certain adults with advanced squamous cell cancer of the anal canal. The authorisation was granted on 5 November. It covers disease that cannot be surgically removed and has spread or returned locally.
For this indication, the medicine is combined with carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy. It helps the immune system recognise and attack cancer cells by blocking a pathway that can conceal them from immune defences.
The regulator cited a trial involving 308 participants in which adding retifanlimab to chemotherapy prolonged time without cancer worsening compared with placebo plus chemotherapy. A separate authorisation in July covered advanced Merkel cell skin cancer. The November decision adds a different cancer indication.
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Original summary based on the sources above, checked for the November 12, 2026 edition. Reference dates are shown separately from the edition date.