FDA approves new brain cancer drug

South San Francisco-based Genentech, Inc., now owned by Roche, announced Tuesday that the FDA has granted accelerated approval of Avastin for people with glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer.

While it is still incurable, previously glioblastoma was considered untreatable.

"People with this type of brain cancer have had no new treatments in more than a decade," said Timothy Cloughesy, an oncologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. "After so many years with little progress in this field, Avastin was associated with a durable tumor response and doctors now have a new medicine to offer patients."

Avastin received accelerated approval just 35 days after an advisory panel's unanimous recommendation. Currently, only one out of six patients treated for glioblastoma sees no progression of the disease after six months.

About 10,000 patients currently suffer from glioblastoma, and about 2,900 are eligible for therapy with Avastin, according to a Genentech spokeswoman.

Avastin is one of Genentech's best selling drugs, and is already approved to treat other cancers including lung, colon, and breast cancer.

Source : www.mercurynews.com