Roche’s Perjeta increases survival
pharmafile | June 27, 2012 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | EMA, FDA, Herceptin, Perjeta, Roche, breast cancer
Roche’s new drug Perjeta has scored another trial success by increasing overall survival in certain breast cancer patients.
The new CLEOPATRA study showed that people with HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer (mBC) saw greater overall survival when treated with the combination of Perjeta, Herceptin and docetaxel chemotherapy, compared to Herceptin and docetaxel chemotherapy alone.
These data – and OS survival rates – will be submitted for presentation at an upcoming medical meeting.
The FDA approved Perjeta (pertuzumab) earlier this month, and can now be used with Roche’s Herceptin (trastuzumab) and docetaxel chemotherapy for patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (mBC) who have not been treated before.
Roche is awaiting a decision by the European Medicines Agency after submitting the drug for approval earlier this year.
“We are pleased that Perjeta helped people with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer live longer and lengthened the time they lived without their disease worsening,” said Hal Barron, head of global product development at Roche.
“The improvement in survival seen in the CLEOPATRA study is great news for patients and doctors, and reinforces our belief that Perjeta will improve the outlook for people with this devastating disease,” he added.
Perjeta is a personalised medicine that targets the HER2 receptor, a protein found in high quantities on the outside of cancer cells in HER2-positive cancers.
The drug is believed to work in a way that is complementary to Herceptin, as the two medicines target different places on the HER2 receptor.
Herceptin is one of Roche’s biggest selling drugs, and brought in CHF5.3 billion ($5.8 billion) last year, but will start to lose its patent protection soon. Perjeta is expected to make $1.8 billion in peak annual sales.
Ben Adams
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