Roche's blockbuster Avastin, already approved for any number of cancer treatments, has gotten a new indication in the European Union.
Regulators there have approved the drug for treating women with recurrent, platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. It will be used in conjunction with standard chemotherapy with carboplatin and gemcitabine in women with first recurrence of platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer, the company said in a release. Avastin is already approved by the EC as a front-line treatment for women with advanced ovarian cancer.
The indication is already turning in results for Roche ($RHHBY). The company had noted in its latest earnings report that approval of Avastin for ovarian cancer helped turn in a 6% sales growth for the drug in the first 9 months of the year, PMLive reports. Sales reached $4.6 billion. Avastin is already one of the top selling drugs in the world but researchers continue to find new ways the treatment can perform on cancers.
Just this week researchers said levels of protein in the blood could predict which advanced bowel cancer patients will respond to Avastin, a monoclonal antibody that increases survival in 10% to 15% of patients with the disease. Knowing which patients will benefit from the drug will cut costs by targeting use of the drug more effectively, and will allow those patients who won't improve the opportunity to move on to a more effective treatment more quickly.
- here's the release
- read the PMLive story
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