Roche's Avastin effective in people with newly-diagnosed glioblastoma

Adding Swiss drug major Roche's (ROG: SIX) blockbuster cancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab) to the current standard of care for newly-diagnosed aggressive brain cancer - glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) - can significantly extend the time people live without their disease worsening, by 4.4 months (progression free survival of 10.6 months compared to 6.2 months with radiation and chemotherapy plus placebo, HR =0 .64, p<0.0001), reducing the risk of progression by 36%.

Data from the Phase III AVAglio trial, which evaluated Avastin in combination with standard treatment (radiation and a chemotherapy called temozolomide) was presented for the first time last week at the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Annual Meeting in Washington.  Analysts at Credit Suisse put a worldwide net present value for Avastin in brain cancer is 4.33 Swiss francs/share (2% of total) for Roche.

However, the interim results for overall survival (OS), the other co-primary endpoint, did not reach statistical significance (HR=0.89; p=0.2135), the company stated. No new safety findings were observed in the AVAglio study and adverse events were consistent with those seen in previous trials of Avastin across tumor types for approved indications.