Roche's Tecentriq scores lung cancer nod, setting up 3-way battle with Merck, BMS : fiercepharma

As it stated in fiercepharma

Roche's Tecentriq scores lung cancer nod, setting up 3-way battle with Merck, BMS

Roche's Tecentriq scores lung cancer nod, setting up 3-way battle with Merck, BMS

Roche's new immuno-oncology drug Tecentriq is ready for its close-up in lung cancer.The PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor nabbed FDA approval for patients who've failed on a previous treatment, putting it in head-to-head competition with Merck & Co.'s Keytruda and Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo.Tecentriq was already approved to treat bladder cancer, but the lung cancer field is a much larger market.Though Keytruda and Opdivo have already made inroads, analysts see a solid opportunity for Tecentriq, particularly after strong survival data presented last week at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Copenhagen.


moreover from reuters

Roche's lung cancer drug wins U.S. approval

Roche's lung cancer drug wins U.S. approval

The logo of Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche is seen outside their headquarters in Basel, January 30, 2014.REUTERS/Ruben Sprich/File PhotoSwiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG's new immunotherapy, Tecentriq, won approval on Tuesday from U.S. health regulators as a second-line lung cancer treatment, a decision seen likely to erode Bristol-Myers Squibb's position in this hotly contested market.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Tecentriq to be used in non-small cell lung cancer patients previously treated with chemotherapy, regardless of whether their tumors express a protein called PD-L1.People with high PD-L1 levels are generally more receptive to immunotherapy.


coupled with marketwatch

FDA approves Genentech's lung cancer drug

FDA approves Genentech's lung cancer drug

Roche Group's ROG, +0.39% Genentech said late Tuesday the Food and Drug Administration has approved its Tecentriq immunotherapy medicine for the treatment of certain types of lung cancer.Tecentriq may treat lung cancer by working with the immune system and targeting a protein.More studies are evaluating Tecentriq alone and in combination with other medicines, the South San Francisco, Calif., company said in a statement.


additionally sky

Call to improve 'lagging' survival rates for lung cancer patients

Call to improve 'lagging' survival rates for lung cancer patients

Health experts are demanding "drastic improvements" to lung cancer care to improve patient survival rates which doctors say are falling behind the rest of Europe.A new report by the UK Lung Cancer Coalition of charities and doctors is challenging governments to increase five year survival rates to 25% by 2025.It claims in England just 16% of patients are still alive five years after being diagnosed with lung cancer, while in Northern Ireland it is 10.5%, Scotland 9.8% and just 6.6% in Wales.Recommendations include faster diagnosis and early detection, better support to help smokers quit and more campaigns to raise awareness of the symptoms of the disease.


as well scotsman

Calls for better lung cancer care in Scotland

Calls for better lung cancer care in Scotland

Calls have been made for "drastic improvements" to lung cancer care as five-year survival rates for Scottish lung cancer patients lag behind the rest of Europe.Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in Scotland and long term survival rates are poor as only one in 10 patients are still alive five years after diagnosis.A poll by the UK Lung Cancer Coalition (UKLCC) found that two thirds of lung specialists believed that early diagnosis was the most important factor for improving five-year survival rates.But a separate survey of 100 lung cancer patients or their carers found that 36 per cent waited more than a month for a definitive diagnosis - and 17 per cent waited over two months.