Roche's star cancer drug stumbles in study, raising doubts about future stat : WHTC

The failure also comes as more of Roche's rivals enter the market for treating bladder cancer. The drug, also already approved for lung cancer, is a pillar of Roche's cancer drug strategy and is seen by its scientists as a backbone for multiple combinations with other drugs to fight various forms of the disease. Roche, the world's biggest maker of cancer drugs, had won fast-track approval last May in the United States for Tecentriq against bladder cancer but full approval hinged on further trials. By John MillerZURICH (Reuters) - Roche's Tecentriq immuno-oncology drug failed a late-stage follow-up trial against advanced bladder cancer, the Swiss drugmaker said on Wednesday, raising questions about whether regulators could scale back their approval of the medicine. "This puts the existing U.S. bladder cancer approval in serious doubt, and will also, of course, raise market concerns about Tecentriq's efficacy in other cancer types," Kepler Cheuvreux analyst David Evans wrote in a note to investors.




REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File PhotoU.S. health regulators on Tuesday granted accelerated approval for Pfizer Inc's immuno-oncology drug Bavencio to treat advanced bladder cancer, marking the second approval in less than two months for the treatment developed along with Germany's Merck KGaA. The Bavencio approval was based on response rates from a study of 242 patients who all received Bavencio. It is the fourth new immunotherapy to be approved for advanced bladder cancer. Roche's Tecentriq and Opdivo from Bristol-Myers Squibb are also approved for bladder cancer. German Merck said the wholesale price for Bavencio based on an average bladder cancer patient will be about $13,000 a month, less than the $15,000 per month AstraZeneca set after its Imfinzi received U.S. approval for bladder cancer a week ago.


AMY GUTTMAN: Phillips is 69 years old and owns an industrial pump factory, where he continues to work every day. He goes there for CimaVax, a Cuban-made drug used to treat Cancer that's kept him alive longer than any doctor predicted. JUDY WOODRUFF: Now: a promising Lung Cancer treatment from Cuba that's drawing attention from U.S. patients. Fewer than 5 percent of stage 4 lung cancer patients like Phillips survive for five years. MICK PHILLIPS, Lung Cancer Patient: So, I have this little lunch box here that's insulated.


collected by :Lucy William

To follow all the new news about Disease !!! All you need to know about all kinds of diseases