FDA approves Roche treatment for small cell lung cancer

March 19, 2019

Roche has elbowed its way into the market of new treatments for an aggressive kind of lung cancer. 

The Swiss drugmaker’s U.S. unit, Genentech, reported this week that the FDA has approved Tecentriq, an immunotherapy drug, in combination with chemotherapy for treating extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC). In a study of the combo, patients lived a median of 12.3 months, compared to 10.3 months getting chemo alone.    

Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo has also been approved to treat SCLC in patients who have not responded to other treatments. The FDA has also placed Merck’s Keytruda under priority review for SCLC. 

Read the full Reuters report.