Genentech Inc. said Monday that its drug Herceptin prolonged the lives of breast cancer patients in two large clinical trials, setting the stage for a new way to treat the disease.
The drug, which is used to treat advanced breast cancer, also showed effectiveness in preventing recurrence of the disease in patients who had undergone surgery for early breast cancer.
"This is a major advance for many thousands of women with breast cancer," Andrew von Eschenbach, director of the National Cancer Institute, said in a statement.
Genentech drug -- An article in Tuesday's Business section about clinical trials of Herceptin, one of Genentech Inc.'s cancer drugs, quoted Geoffrey Porges, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., as saying that after the successful trials, the company "could have $3-billion cancer products." In fact, he said the company could have three separate billion-dollar cancer products.
U.S. sales of Herceptin could double to $1 billion as a result of the trials, adding to Genentech's stable of blockbuster medicines, said Geoffrey Porges, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.
"It is highly likely they could have $3-billion cancer products," he said. "They are now set to become the dominant player in cancer treatment for at least the end of the decade."
Genentech has enjoyed a string of successes recently. Its cancer drug Avastin, which is approved to treat colon cancer, has shown effectiveness in treating lung and breast cancers and is on track to have sales of $1 billion this year. Rituxan, another Genentech cancer drug, has annual sales of more than $1 billion.
Investors drove Genentech's shares almost 11% higher in after-hours trading. The outcome of the clinical trials was announced after the markets closed.
Herceptin is an intravenous drug that targets genetic switches that spur the growth of breast tumors. The switches, known as HER-2, are present in 20% to 30% of women with breast cancer. Since 1998, Herceptin has been used to treat advanced breast cancer in patients whose tumors tested positive for HER-2.
The clinical trials announced Monday could expand the use of Herceptin to women with early-stage breast cancer whose tumors have HER-2.
The studies involved 5,500 women and were designed to see whether Herceptin could prevent the recurrence of cancer after surgery. The patients were divided into two groups: one received a combination of Herceptin and chemotherapy; the other received only chemotherapy.
The trials showed that women who received Herceptin had a 52% decrease in cancer recurrence compared with patients on chemotherapy alone. The National Cancer Institute, which sponsored the study in collaboration with Genentech, said the result was "highly statistically significant."
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