Avastin Helps Slow Breast Cancer in Study

Use of the drug in addition to chemo slows progression of the disease in a phase III trial conducted by Roche. That's good news for Genentech.
By Adam Feuerstein ,

CHICAGO -- The addition of Genentech's (DNA) Avastin to chemotherapy slowed the progression of disease in patients with metastatic breast cancer, according to results of a large, international study released today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.

Swiss drug firm

Roche

, which sells Avastin in Europe, conducted the study, the second such clinical trial to demonstrate that the use of Avastin in combination with chemotherapy can slow the rate of tumor growth in breast cancer patients.

Last February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Avastin as a treatment for first-line, metastatic breast cancer patients.

Avastin is currently being used in about 25% of first-line metastatic breast cancer patients, according to analyst estimates, but further market-share gains have been slow coming because there isn't yet any clinical data showing that Avastin prolongs survival in these breast cancer patients.

This new Roche study -- dubbed AVADO -- supports the earlier study of Avastin in breast cancer patients and could prompt more doctors to use Avastin in their breast cancer patients. This is clearly something Genentech is counting on to accelerate Avastin sales growth.

U.S. sales of Avastin in the first quarter totaled $600 million, a small, $3 million drop from sales in the fourth quarter 2007, but that was the first sequential decrease in the drug's quarterly sales since its launch in 2004.

Disappointing Avastin sales in the first quarter have been one reason cited by investors for the recent weakness in Genentech's stock price, which dropped from $80 in March to the high $60s-low $70s in May.

Second-quarter Avastin sales, so far, are tracking strongly, according to April prescription data released Thursday.

In the phase III AVADO trial, 763 breast cancer patients were randomized to one of three treatment arms: a placebo plus the

Sanofi-Aventis

(SNY) - Get Report

chemotherapy drug Taxotere; a low dose of Avastin plus Taxotere; or a high dose of Avastin plus Taxotere.

After 11 months of follow-up, patients in the high-dose Avastin arm were 28% less likely to have their cancer progress compared to patients receiving Taxotere alone. Patients in the low-dose Avastin arm were 21% less likely to have their cancer progress compared to the control arm.

The response rate, or tumor shrinkage rate, for patients in the high-dose Avastin arm was 63%, compared to 55% for the low-dose Avastin arm and 44% for the control arm of the study. All the results were statistically significant.

Survival data from the AVADO trial are not ready and won't likely be released until next year or 2010.

A full presentation of the AVADO data is scheduled for Sunday at the ASCO annual meeting.

Avastin is approved as a treatment for colon, lung and breast cancer. The drug posted sales in 2007 totaling $2.29 billion.

Genentech shares closed Friday at $70.87.

Adam Feuerstein writes regularly for TheStreet.com. In keeping with TSC's editorial policy, he doesn't own or short individual stocks, although he owns stock in TheStreet.com. He also doesn't invest in hedge funds or other private investment partnerships. Feuerstein appreciates your feedback;

click here

to send him an email.

Loading ...