EMA recommends extending use of Bayer's Nexavar

The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended extending the use of German pharma major Bayer’s (BAYN: DE) cancer drug Nexavar (sorafenib) to the treatment of progressive, locally advanced or metastatic, differentiated thyroid cancer.

Thyroid cancer is a rare disease which affects the thyroid, a small gland at the base of the neck that produces thyroid hormones. In the European Union, close to 37,000 new cases of thyroid cancer were reported in 2012 and over 3,600 deaths. Differentiated thyroid cancer is the most common type of thyroid cancer. It originates from the follicular cells of the thyroid gland, the cells which produce hormones that help regulate growth and metabolism (the process of breaking down substances in the body).

"The recommendation by the CHMP for sorafenib in differentiated thyroid cancer is an important milestone because it brings patients one step closer to a new treatment option for this difficult-to-treat form of thyroid cancer," said Joerg Moeller, member of the Bayer HealthCare executive committee and head of global development.