Sanofi-Aventis’ Taxotere expected to get boost in sales

Sanofi-Aventis’ cancer treatment Taxotere has been approved for a priority review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the treatment of gastric cancer.

The move could boost the market for the drug, which is already successful treatment for metastatic or locally advanced breast cancer, used if initial chemotherapy fails to produce a remission.

Phase III international trials of 457 gastric cancer patients found that those who had been treated with Taxotere-based chemotherapy had a significantly improved chance of survival over those who received a standard treatment regime.

“Doctors treating patients with gastric cancer urgently need new and more effective therapeutic strategies and better treatment options to help patients with this devastating disease,” said principal investigator Jaffer A Ajani.

“If approved, the incorporation of Taxotere into a commonly used chemotherapy regimen may be the most important development in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer in more than a decade,” he added.

Priority reviews are awarded by the FDA for drugs of high therapeutic importance.

© Adfero Ltd