Roche study shows survival benefits of Tarceva

Roche has published a new study showing the survival benefits of its drug Tarceva among patients with a certain form of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The company presented results from Eurtac, the first phase III trial examining the treatment among Western NSCLC patients with EGFR-activating mutations, compared with standard chemotherapy.

It was found that Tarceva was able to double rates of progression-free survival compared to the control therapy, while also reducing the risk of the disease getting worse.

This was consistent with data from an earlier study conducted among Asian patients and will help to support Roche's efforts to achieve European regulatory approval for the drug in this specification.

Dr Hal Barron, chief medical officer and head of global product development at Roche, said: "This is an important step forward in our goal of providing personalised options for people with advanced lung cancer."

This comes after the company published positive new trial data for its rheumatoid arthritis therapy RoActemra last month.