Genentech Disputes Avastin Data: Report

Genentech(DNA Quote) challenged conclusions made by a team of university researchers that its blockbuster cancer drug Avastin has been linked to a significantly increased risk of blood clots in the veins, according to a report.

The risk of the worrisome blood clots was 33% higher among those on Avastin compared with control group subjects in 15 clinical trials analyzed together, Shenhong Wu and his colleagues reported late Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

Wu's study contradicts the conclusions from a pooled analysis of five studies by Genentech researchers, who reported in 2007 that the vein clots didn't rise significantly among subjects on Avastin. ...