Avastin which is a breast cancer drug could be pulled by a committee on the Food and Drug Administration. A new round of clinical testing revealed the drug had little or no effect on breast cancers, following the first round of clinical trials for the drug showed positive results. The FDA hasn’t explained whether the drug can be pulled or not year. Roche, which manufactures the drug, might lose a lot if the FDA pulls the drug.
Avastin cancer drug sells a lot
Bevacizumab, a cancer medication has the trade name Avastin. It could be called an angiogenesis inhibitor which stops blood vessels from growing. It works by stopping a hormone called vascular endothelial growth factor, which stimulates blood vessel growth. The Los Angeles Times, reports the drug was approved in 2008 by the FDA as long as more studies were done to prove it works. Roche and its subsidiary Genentech, which makes the drug, have failed to prove in a second round of trials that Avastin is definitely effective in eliminating or stopping breast cancer. About $ 6 billion of the drug is sold yearly with about $ 1 billion straight from breast cancer patients.
Roche feels side effects
The company that owns Genentech, Roche Holding Inc., dropped 4.1 percent in market shares after the FDA panel recommended pulling the approval to market the drug as a breast cancer treatment, according to Market Watch. The drop in share value comes on the heels of a series of lawsuits concerning Accutane, an anti-acne medication the company produces. Even if it doesn’t help breast cancer specifically, it has helped numerous other cancers.
Not ending the drug
Things like cancer have a hard time finding medications to help them. There may well one day be a cure for cancer, but it will take a long time. If the FDA does pull its approval of Avastin being marketed for breast cancer treatments, it may lead to selling fewer pills, but that’s over it.
More details about this topic at these websites
Los Angeles Times
latimes.com/news/health/sns-health-avastin-breast-cancer,0,2730048.story
Market Watch
marketwatch.com/story/roche-shares-drop-after-fda-ruling-on-avastin-2010-07-21
Bevacizumab
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bevacizumab
