KHQ MD ALERT: FDA Approves New Targeted Breast Cancer Drug - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

KHQ MD ALERT: FDA Approves New Targeted Breast Cancer Drug

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration says it has approved a new form of a best-selling breast cancer drug that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.
    
The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the drugs intact until they bind to a cancer cell, where the double-shot of medication is released.
    
The FDA approved the new treatment for about 20 percent of breast cancer patients who have a particular form of the disease. These patients have tumors that overproduce a protein known as HER-2.
    
The approval will help Roche build on the success of Herceptin, which has long dominated the breast cancer marketplace. The drug had sales of roughly $6 billion last year.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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