Roche racks up double EC approval

Roche has received European Commission approval for Actemra/RoActemra (tocilizumab) for the treatment of giant cell arteritis (GCA) and for Gazyva/Gazyvaro (obinutuzumab) for people with previously untreated advanced follicular lymphoma, the Swiss pharma giant announced on Friday.

This is the first approval for a treatment of GCA in Europe, while Gazyvaro, which is marketed as Gazyva in the USA, is approved based on trial results showing superior progression-free survival to Roche’s own blockbuster MabThera/Rituxan (rituximab), the current standard of care in follicular lymphoma.