Avastin approved in US for the most common type of kidney cancer
Roche announced that the U.S. food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Avastin (bevacizumab) plus interferon alpha for people with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer.
Commenting on the approval, William M. Burns, CEO of Roche’s Pharmaceuticals Division said, “Avastin has now been approved for five different types of cancer in the USA. This underscores our belief in the important clinical benefits that Avastin delivers as we push forward with our ongoing research programs in more than 30 tumour types.”
The FDA approval is based on data from the pivotal phase III study (AVOREN) in patients with advanced, previously untreated metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The study showed that patients who received Avastin plus interferon alpha lived nearly twice as long without their disease getting worse compared to those who received interferon alpha alone; 10.2 months versus. 5.4 months respectively.
Avastin is designed to block the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein to address a key underlying cause of cancer growth. Avastin works differently than other approved medicines for renal cell carcinoma because it specifically binds to the VEGF protein, which is produced in elevated amounts in most kidney cancers.
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