Roche receives EU approval for breast cancer drug Perjeta

Roche has announced that its new personalised breast cancer drug Perjeta has been approved by the European Medicines Agency.

Regulators have ratified the drug for use among patients with previously untreated HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, in combination with Herceptin and docetaxel.

Data from the phase III trial Cleopatra showed that Perjeta offered patients a median improvement in progression-free survival rates of 6.1 months compared to Herceptin plus chemotherapy alone, as well as a 34 percent better rate of overall survival.

A diagnostic HER2 test is used to determine if a patient has HER2-positive breast cancer, as this treatment approach is part of Roche's new personalised therapy strategy.

Dr Hal Barron, chief medical officer and head of global product development at Roche, said: "The EU approval of Perjeta is the result of years of research into the HER2 pathway and we are excited to offer a new treatment option for people with this aggressive disease."

This comes after the firm received approval for Kadcyla, another personalised breast cancer drug, in the US last month.