Is Tykerb GSK's cancer breakthrough?

You win some, you lose some. While the FDA was dashing cold water on GlaxoSmithKline's HPV vaccine, breast cancer researchers were revealing studies that may drive Tykerb sales upward. Presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, one new trial showed that Tykerb cut breast cancer stem cells, helping to eradicate the disease in some patients. Another study showed that using Tykerb as part of a drug cocktail shrank metastatic brain tumors by at least 20 percent.

Meanwhile, European regulators gave the drug a conditional thumbs-up. The FDA approved Tykerb for use against advanced breast cancer last spring. Right now, the $47 billion cancer market is dominated by Roche and Genentech. If Glaxo could get a firm foothold with Tykerb, it may make some inroads.

- see the release
- take a look at the the brain tumor news
- read the EMEA news
- get more from the Houston Chronicle

ALSO: Take a look at GSK's pipeline. Report

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