Alimta (pemetrexed) is an anticancer chemotherapy<\/a> drug manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Alimta and cisplatin<\/a>, another chemotherapy drug, as the first widely accepted chemotherapy regimen for mesothelioma in 2004.<\/p>\n Specifically, the FDA approved Alimta to treat pleural mesothelioma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in tandem with cisplatin. The agency approved the chemotherapy combination for patients who had cancer that could not be treated by surgery. The FDA approved Alimta for use as a first-line single-agent chemotherapy treatment in 2008.<\/p>\n Sometimes Alimta is used as a secondary therapy and prescribed when the first line of chemotherapy is unsuccessful. Patients who have entered remission may also receive Alimta as a maintenance treatment to extend their remission.<\/p>\n Today, Alimta is considered the most promising chemotherapy drug to treat mesothelioma<\/a> and is used as the standard baseline comparison to other chemotherapy drugs in clinical trials. Scientists are studying why Alimta works in some patients and not others and looking at how mesothelioma cells become resistant to chemotherapy.<\/p>\n Download our Free Chemotherapy Guide<\/strong> to learn about the top cancer drugs for mesothelioma, what to expect, and how to manage side effects.<\/p>\n