Roche's Avastin Scores Again in Ovarian Cancer but Doubts Remain
EP Vantage submits: Avastin has now racked up three positive studies in ovarian cancer, the next tumour type Roche (RHHBY.PK) is hoping to win approval to treat. Unfortunately, the beleaguered antibody is struggling to find friends at the moment, and confidence that the antibody will become a commercial success in this setting, possibly even win approval, has taken a knock. There is certainly a need for new therapies in ovarian cancer and for the second year running Avastin data in this setting is likely to attract much attention at oncology conferences (Asco - Avastin in ovarian cancer prompts wait and see response, June 7, 2010). Crucially, evidence that the drug helps women live longer overall is awaited, while heightened concerns about the drug’s side effects means safety data will be scrutinised. For confidence to return, Avastin needs to shine on both measures. Oceans apart Roche announced Tuesday that in a trial called Oceans, women who received a combination of Avastin and chemotherapy followed by continued use of Avastin alone, live longer without their disease worsening than those who only received chemotherapy. This measure, of progression free survival, was the primary endpoint of the study and was met successfully; so far Roche has not revealed any figures on how long each group lived before progression, or any other details. The Oceans study was conducted in women who had already received chemotherapy and relapsed, so is slightly different from the other studies that have yielded data in ovarian cancer, GOG 0218 and ICON7. These testedComplete Story »
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