Roche gets EU OK for combination Cotellic therapy for skin cancer

Swiss drug company Roche (SIX: ROG) has said the European Union has given its nod of approval for the company’s Cotellic (cobimetinib) for use in combination with the drug Zelboraf (vemurafenib) to treat advanced melanoma.

Sandra Horning, chief medical officer and head of global product development, said: “There has been significant progress in the treatment of melanoma, with more medicines being approved in the past five years than in the previous 30. Together, Cotellic plus Zelboraf more strongly suppressed cancer growth than Zelboraf alone. This underscores the critical role of combination medicines in helping melanoma patients live longer without their disease worsening."

The company said approval of the MEK inhibitor was based mainly on data from the late-stage coBRIM study, which demonstrated that patients with previously untreated BRAF V600 mutation-positive advanced melanoma who were treated with Cotellic plus Zelboraf achieved median progression-free survival of 12.3 months, versus 7.2 months for Zelboraf alone.