The Wall Street Journal-20080129-Avastin Gets Wider EU Approval

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Avastin Gets Wider EU Approval

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Roche Holding AG's key cancer drug Avastin was approved for wider use in the European Union.

The new broader label will allow Avastin to be used in combination with any type of chemotherapy in patients with advanced colorectal cancer, the company said.

Avastin was already approved in Europe to treat colorectal cancer in combination with certain chemotherapies as well as to treat kidney, lung and breast cancer.

Avastin is one of Roche's fastest-growing drugs. In last year's first nine months, sales of the drug rose 41%.

Avastin was approved in the U.S. in 2004 for the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer. Recently, an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration voted not to recommend Avastin as a breast- cancer drug.