Avastin partners boosted by lung cancer data
pharmafile | March 17, 2005 | News story | Sales and Marketing |
The share prices of Roche and Genentech have risen sharply on the back of news that Avastin extends the life of lung cancer patients.
The partners claimed the first-ever positive improved survival results for a biological treatment in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common form of the disease.
Interim analysis of a clinical trial data of Avastin as a first-line treatment for the disease, found Avastin improved patients' overall survival, or reduced their risk of death in combination with traditional chemotherapy.
The news saw Genentech's share price rise sharply by 25%, while Roche also saw its share price rise 5%.
William Burns, chief executive of Roche's Pharmaceutical Division, said: "To observe an improvement in survival in this study is remarkable, particularly as it is the first time in years that a study has shown an increase in survival for people with NSCLC in the first-line setting."
The phase III study involved 878 patients with advanced NSCLC taking either Avastin in combination with a platinum-based chemotherapy or the chemotherapy alone. Although the addition of Avastin to chemotherapy was well tolerated, there were some patient deaths from pulmonary bleeding in the trial and more of these were seen in the group taking Avastin.
Avastin was developed in partnership with Genentech, Roche's majority owned US biotech unit. It is a unique cancer drug that works by choking off the blood supply that is essential for the growth of the tumour and its spread throughout the body.
Genentech's head of development and chief medical officer Hal Barron said the trial was the first time any treatment had improved upon the standard, two-drug chemotherapy regimen in the disease.
"We plan to share these data with the FDA to discuss the possibility of filing a supplemental Biologics Licence Application for Avastin plus chemotherapy in first-line non-small cell lung cancer," he added.
Roche and Genentech are currently also investigating Avastin for clinical benefit in a number of other cancers, including pancreatic and ovarian cancer, and renal cell carcinoma.
Avastin was launched in the UK in January this year, following European approval in the same month for first-line treatment of patients with metastatic carcinoma of the colon or rectum in combination with two kinds of chemotherapy.
It was launched in the US in February last year, having been granted fast-track FDA approval.
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