Eisai’s Halaven approved for earlier usage against breast cancer in EU

Eisai has announced that the European Commission has approved its breast cancer therapy Halaven for use in an expanded indication.

The decision will allow Halaven to be used in the earlier treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who have progressed after at least one chemotherapeutic regimen for advanced disease.

Currently, the drug can only be prescribed to patients who have failed to respond to at least two chemotherapeutic regimens. Data from a pair of phase III clinical trials has demonstrated that Eisai's drug can offer benefits when deployed at an earlier stage.

More than 300,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Europe every year, with around one-third of these subsequently developing metastatic disease.

The company said this comes as part of its ongoing efforts to "make further contributions to address the diversified needs of, and increase the benefits provided to, patients with cancer and their families, as well as healthcare providers".

Halaven was the first single-agent chemotherapy agent to be shown to statistically and significantly extend overall survival rates among metastatic breast cancer sufferers compared to the current standard of care.