EU Recommends Avastin For Treating Ovarian Cancer

Roche has announced that the European Union’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has made a recommendation of approval for Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with traditional chemotherapy for ovarian cancer that is resistant to platinum-containing chemotherapy.

Roche’s Avastin drug was designed specifically to treat vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and is the only ovarian cancer therapy approved to do so by the European Medicines Agency. The drug also limits the growth of blood vessels near tumors, which cuts off the nutrients that allow the tumors to grow and spread throughout the body. Avastin is typically indicated as treatment for advanced ovarian cancer and as a treatment for recurrent, platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer.

Sandra Horning, CMO and head of global product development at Roche, commented on the approval recommendation. “Women with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer have limited medicines available for their difficult disease,” she said. “EU approval of Avastin for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer would be an important step in helping these women live longer without their disease progressing, and we look forward to receiving the final decision from the European Commission in the coming months.”

Approximately 230,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year. Ovarian cancer has an extremely high mortality rate, the highest among all gynecological cancers. Ovarian cancer is often associated with high concentrations of VEGF. The higher the concentration of VEGF, the more serious the prognosis for the patient. Many women who are diagnosed with the disease will later have it develop into the advanced forms, which are more difficult to treat. It is estimated that 140,000 women have a “hard to treat” form of the disease.