Genentech wins FDA approval of pancreatic cancer therapy

Yesterday, Genentech and partner OIS Pharmaceuticals won FDA approval of Tarceva for pancreatic cancer. It marked the first new therapy for late-stage pancreatic cancer in nine years. The approval is significant given that pancreatic cancer has the highest one-year mortality rate of any cancer, and more than 216,000 people worldwide are diagnosed each year. Tarceva, combined with gemcitabine chemotherapy, demonstrated a considerable impact on overall survival of pancreatic cancer patients after one year, as compared to gemcitabine plus placebo. Tarceva was previously approved as a once-daily oral tablet for non-small cell lung cancer.

- read this press release for more information