GlaxoSmithKline receives EU approval for new Tyverb indication

GlaxoSmithKline has been granted European regulatory approval for its oral breast cancer treatment Tyverb to be used and marketed in a new indication.

The European Medicines Agency has ratified the drug, in combination with an aromatase inhibitor, as a therapy for hormone receptor-positive, ErbB2 over-expressing metastatic breast cancer in post-menopausal women who are not undergoing chemotherapy.

This approval was based on positive findings from a clinical trial and means the drug is now the first all-oral treatment available for this condition.

Stephen Johnston, professor of breast cancer medicine at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and Institute of Cancer Research, said this means that patients would be able to benefit from the convenience of being able to take their medication at home.

He added: “As a first line option for these patients it offers a choice to delay the need for more aggressive and toxic therapies, such as chemotherapy.”

Earlier this week, GlaxoSmithKline presented new clinical trial data which illustrated the efficacy of its systemic lupus erythematosus drug Benlysta.