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The European Commission has approved a new treatment for metastatic breast cancer, the manufacturer has announced.
Abraxis BioScience said Abraxane has been given the go-ahead for patients who have failed first-line treatment for metastatic disease, and who are not suited to anthracycline-containing therapy.
The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) came to its decision after reviewing phase III clinical trial results which show Abraxane can double the response rate and significantly prolong survival compared with other medications.
Dr William Gradishar, professor of medicine at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, said: “Abraxane provides a much-needed new treatment option for women with metastatic breast cancer in Europe.
“Given the superior patient outcomes demonstrated in two phase III clinical trials, Abraxane has become the taxane therapy of choice for oncologists in the US in this setting.”
Martine Piccart-Gebhart, professor in oncology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and head of the chemotherapy department at the Jules Bordet Institute, added: “For the first time, European women with advanced breast cancer will have access to this novel nanoparticle taxane-based therapy.
“Not only do women with breast cancer benefit from the efficacy of this new drug, it is also more convenient to administer and is well tolerated.”
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