The 10-member panel voted in the favor of the Novartis AG's cancer drug, Afinitor after they found it quite safe and efficient in treating a rare type of pancreatic cancer which earlier had very few treatment options.

Though there were some initial doubts regarding the serious side effects of the drug but later on they all agreed on the benefits of this drug which were found to outweigh the risks involved with usage of the drug.

Though Afinitor already has the approval for treating kidney cancer but still some of the panelists made a suggestion that addressing the problem of observed side effects of the drug could provide other point of views.

Expecting to register sales of $1.3 billion in 2015, the drug could see sales of about $2 billion from other indications including breast, gastric and liver cancers.

Deutsche Bank analyst Tim Race, said, “Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor is a relatively rare cancer representing about $100 million of peak sales potential, less than 1 percent to Novartis' core earnings per share”.

Before taking this crucial decision on the approval of the drug, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration staff referred to a study which showed that the usage of this drug could extend the time for cancer to get worse.