(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized a use of Roche’s Avastin for patients whose colorectal cancer has worsened notwithstanding prior diagnosis with a drug.
The new use will concede patients initial treated with Avastin and chemotherapy to be treated again with a biotechnology drug in multiple with a opposite chemotherapy regimen.
A pivotal clinical hearing showed that such a diagnosis plan softened survival.
“The infancy of people diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer accept Avastin and chemotherapy as their initial treatment,†Hal Barron, arch medical officer during Roche’s Genentech unit, pronounced in a statement. “These people now have a choice to continue with Avastin and a new chemotherapy after their cancer worsens, that might assistance them live longer than changing to a new chemotherapy alone.â€
Avastin, also famous as bevacizumab, is an antibody that blocks vascular endothelial expansion factor, or VEGF, a protein tumors need to grow nutrient-providing blood vessels.
The drug is authorized in a United States for treating glioblastoma, a mind tumor, and colorectal, lung and kidney cancers.
Worldwide Avastin sales totaled $5.3 billion Swiss francs ($5.5 billion) in 2011.
(Reporting By Deena Beasley; modifying by Carol Bishopric)
