Sanofi Aventis: Taxotere approved by NICE for early breast cancer

NICE has approved Taxotere, the Sanofi-Aventis anticancer drug, as a recommended adjuvant treatment for women with early node-positive breast cancer.

Taxotere, which is undergoing studies to find its effectiveness as a treatment for a variety of cancers, has already been used for patients with prostate cancer and approved by the FDA for those with operable, node-positive breast cancer.

NICE claims that Taxotere will cost ?162.74 for a 0.5 ml vial and 534.75 for a two ml vial, excluding VAT. Therefore, the cost per patient over six cycles of treatment would be approximately 6,000 pounds.

Last year, a phase III trial demonstrated that a combination therapy of Taxotere and Herceptin “significantly” improved survival outcomes for patients with HER-2 positive breast cancer.

Additionally, Taxotere was also recommended by the European Medicines Agency’s committee for medicinal products for human use for the treatment of stomach cancer.

Professor Eric Van Cutsen from the University Hospital of Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium, who was principal European investigator for the TAX325 trial, stated: “With an optimal treatment option and appropriate risk management of this Taxotere-based regimen, physicians will now have a more effective therapeutic strategy for their patients.”

Taxotere is classified as a taxane, which is an anticancer drug derived from the processing of yew trees. Taxanes affect microtubules in cells, which are important in cell division processes as demonstrated by cancer cells.

Paclitaxel is another type of taxane, which has been in use since the 1960s.

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