Novartis drug Afinitor wins EU nod to treat breast cancer

ZURICH | Mon Jul 30, 2012 1:32am EDT

ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis said on Monday European regulators approved Afinitor to treat women with a certain type of breast cancer, following a panel backing in June.

The drug is the first in a class known as mTOR inhibitors to be approved for post-menopausal women with advanced hormone-receptor positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. American health regulators also backed the drug as a breast cancer treatment[ID:nL2E8IKD8B]

Afinitor, also known as everolimus, is designed to be given in combination with another drug, Aromasin, to treat women whose cancer has recurred or progressed after treatment with two other therapies. Aromasin is made by Pfizer Inc.

Novartis's drug - expected to become a major seller for the Swiss drugmaker - is already approved to treat patients with four other types of cancer, including kidney and a rare type of pancreatic cancer.

(Reporting By Katharina Bart)

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/30/us-novartis-idUSBRE86T03320120730?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

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