If only progress on heart disease was advancing as quickly
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Nov. 30, 2011, 4:27 a.m. EST
Data show Roche breast-cancer drug effective
By Goran Mijuk
ZURICH (MarketWatch) -- Roche Holding AG Wednesday said new research shows its prospective medicine pertuzumab is effective in fighting breast cancer, providing a welcome boost for the Swiss pharmaceutical giant after its blockbuster cancer drug Avastin lost its U.S. breast cancer label earlier this month.
The data, which will be presented at this year's Breast Cancer Symposium in San Antonio, includes results from a late-stage study of pertuzumab used in combination with Roche's cancer medicine Herceptin and chemotherapy docetaxel.
"The data shows that pertuzumab is effective and we plan to file the drug for health authority review this year," Stefan Frings, Head Medical Affairs Oncology at Roche, told Dow Jones Newswires. "Given the strong data, we also have started a full phase III trial," he said.
Pertuzumab, a drug that works by inhibiting growth of cancer-causing protein HER2, should help Roche protect sales of Herceptin, which is set to lose its patent in a few years time, analysts say. Herceptin is one of the Swiss firm's best-selling products, which together with cancer blockbusters Avastin and Rituxan generates the bulk of Roche's annual turnover.
The growth potential of Roche's cancer portfolio was recently questioned after U.S. regulators in November revoked the breast cancer label for Avastin in the U.S., criticizing the medicine's effectiveness and prompting Roche to cut its peak sales estimates for the therapy.
Full story: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/data-show-roche-breast-cancer-drug-effective-2011-11-30?dist=beforebell
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