The European Commission has approved Roche’s Tecentriq in conjunction with Avastin

For patients with advanced or unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), who have not undergone prior systemic therapy, the European Commission has approved Roche’s Tecentriq (atezolizumab) in conjunction with Avastin (bevacizumab).

Phase III results revealed that, compared with Bayer’s Nexavar (sorafenib), the combination of Tecentriq with Avastin improved progression-free survival by forty-one per cent and overall survival by forty-two per cent.

The approval is focused on the findings of the Phase III IMbrave150 study, the first Phase III cancer immunotherapy trial to demonstrate an improvement in both progression-free survival and overall survival, relative to sorafenib, in people with unresectable HCC.

Roche’s Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Product Development, Levi Garraway, stated: “Tecentriq in combination with Avastin is the first treatment to be approved in over a decade that has improved overall survival for people with previously untreated advanced or unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.”

Professor of Medicine at Hannover Medical School, Arndt Vogel, stated: “The results of the IMbrave150 study mark a breakthrough in the treatment of advanced liver cancer – one of the few cancers with a rising death rate and limited options in the first-line setting. After many failures in the last twelve years, the combination of Tecentriq and Avastin shows improvement in overall survival compared to sorafenib, and offers patients the opportunity for improved disease control with a high overall response rate.”