Roche's Kadcyla Approved in EU for Advanced HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

Roche RHHBY today announced that Kadcyla (trastuzumab emtansine or T-DM1), the latest targeted medicine from its HER2 franchise and its first antibody-drug conjugate, has been approved by the European Commission for people with previously treated HER2-positive advanced breast cancer. Specifically, Kadcyla is indicated as a single agent for the treatment of adults with HER2-positive, unresectable locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who previously received Herceptin (trastuzumab) and a taxane, separately or in combination. The indication also stipulates that those treated should either have received prior therapy for locally advanced or metastatic disease, or have had disease recurrence during or within six months of completing adjuvant therapy. “Kadcyla's approval in the EU is important because this type of targeted medicine has been shown in clinical studies to offer clear benefits for people with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer,” said Hal Barron, M.D., Roche's Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Product Development. “Now that Kadcyla has been approved, we can begin discussions with the relevant EU reimbursement authorities to ensure that people who need this medicine can receive it as quickly as possible." The decision is based on results from the pivotal Phase III EMILIA study in which people previously treated with Herceptin and a taxane for their HER2-positive advanced breast cancer were randomised to receive either Kadcyla or a standard treatment, lapatinib and Xeloda (capecitabine). People receiving Kadcyla survived significantly longer than those who received lapatanib and Xeloda (30.9 vs 25.1 months) and also lived for nearly 10 months (9.6 months) without their disease getting worse, a median of 3.2 months longer than those who received lapatinib and Xeloda. They also experienced fewer of the severe side effects commonly associated with chemotherapy, as Kadcyla's targeted mode of action works to deliver the treatment directly to cancer cells, limiting damage to healthy tissues.