Roche receives CHMP backing for subcutaneous Herceptin

Roche has announced that the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended its subcutaneous form of Herceptin as a therapy for breast cancer.

The European Medicines Agency committee has adopted a positive opinion on the use of this new injectable administration method in the treatment of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, based on encouraging data from the phase III trial HannaH.

Herceptin was first approved in 1998 and has been used to treat more than 1.3 million patients worldwide to date.

This subcutaneous version has been developed using technology from Halozyme Therapeutics and can be administered in two to five minutes, rather than the 30 to 90 minutes taken by the intravenous formulation.

Dr Hal Barron, Roche's chief medical officer and head of global product development, said: "EU approval of this subcutaneous form of Herceptin would provide a more convenient option for patients that potentially saves time and healthcare resources."

This comes after the firm received European regulatory approval for the use of RoActemra in the treatment of polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis last month.