FDA approves Herceptin for breast cancer treatment

Genetech's Herceptin has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of the most aggressive form of metastatic breast cancer. The expedited approval came only three weeks after an FDA committee had endorsed the drug. The drug has been proved to benefit patients with tumors that produce excessive amounts of the protein Her2. Used in combination with chemotherapy, Herceptin caused tumors to shrink substantially in 53 percent more women than those in just chemotherapy. Genentech said Herceptin would become widely available by mid-October.

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