Genentech gains FDA approval for Avastin in common kidney cancer

USA-based Genentech, wholly-owned by Swiss drug major Roche, says that the
Food and Drug Administration has approved Avastin (bevacizumab) plus
interferon-alfa for people with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, kidney cancer is the eighth most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States. In 2009, approximately 13,000 Americans will die from the disease.

'During the last five years, Avastin has been approved by the FDA to treat five
different types of cancer,' said Hal Barron, executive vice president, global
development and chief medical officer at Genentech. 'We aim to help more people facing difficult-to-treat cancers and will continue studying Avastin in more than 30 other tumor types.'

Avastin is designed to block the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein to address a key underlying cause of cancer growth. Avastin works differently than other approved medicines for renal cell carcinoma because it specifically binds to the VEGF protein, which is produced in elevated amounts in most kidney cancers.