Roche Holding AG (ROG) said an
experimental medicine was effective in a mid-stage study of
patients with breast cancer whose disease has spread.
The therapy, called T-DM1, kept breast tumors at bay for
“significantly longer” than a treatment that involved
docetaxel chemotherapy and Roche’s Herceptin cancer drug, the
Basel, Switzerland-based company said today in a statement. The
patients, whose tumors were linked to the HER2 protein and who
hadn’t been given previous therapy, also experienced fewer side
effects, it said.
T-DM1 is an “armed antibody” that combines a cancer-
killing chemotherapy with Herceptin. The medicine was developed
with U.S. partner Immunogen Inc. (IMGN) Herceptin acts as a guidance
system, using its ability to home in on cancer cells to deliver
the drug directly to its target. Roche said in 2010 that
clearance for T-DM1 would be delayed for at least two years
after U.S. regulators turned down an application for accelerated
approval.
Detailed findings from the study will be presented at a
future medical congress, Roche said. A previous analysis of the
same clinical trial found that T-DM1 helped shrink tumors and
caused fewer side effects.
Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in females and
strikes about 1 million women a year globally, according to the
Geneva-based World Health Organization.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Dermot Doherty in Geneva at
ddoherty9@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Phil Serafino at
pserafino@bloomberg.net
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