EU approval for Avastin/Tarceva combination for specific type of advanced lung cancer

The European Commission has approved the use of Swiss pharma giant Roche’s (ROG: SIX) Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with Tarceva (erlotinib) for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced, metastatic or recurrent non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth Factor Receptor (EGFR)-activating mutations.

The pivotal Phase II JO25567 study showed a statistically-significant 46% relative reduction in the risk of disease progression or death (median PFS: 16.0 months versus 9.7 months; [HR]=0.54, p=0.0015) for people treated with the combination of Avastin plus Tarceva compared to Tarceva alone. Avastin and Tarceva each target pathways which are known to be key drivers in the development and growth of tumors, and the beneficial effect of Avastin plus Tarceva is supported by results of other clinical studies which showed the combination was effective and tolerable.

“The combination of Avastin and Tarceva represents a new standard of care for patients with this type of lung cancer,” said Sandra Horning, chief medical officer and global dead of product development. “This approval provides physicians in Europe with a powerful combination therapy that can significantly extend progression-free survival beyond one year, representing important progress for a group of patients who typically face a poor prognosis,” Dr Horning added.