In a surprise move, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revoked its approval of Avastin for the treatment of breast cancer. Avastin will, however, remain on the market for a number of other conditions, including various types of colon, lung, kidney and brain cancer.
The FDA’s announcement states that after careful consideration, they felt that Avastin could not be proved to help with breast cancer treatment, and that this had been weighed against the potential side effects from the drug. Avastin had been approved for breast cancer treatment back in early 2008.
The FDA has, however, explicitly encouraged Avastin’s sponsor Genentech to consider other tests to determine whether there might be a way forward for Avastin as an effective treatment for breast cancer. So the revokation of approval might turn out to be only temporary.
Discussion
No comments yet.