Healthcare

FDA panel backs drug for early stage breast cancer

By Matthew Perrone
Published September 12, 2013 9:23pm ET
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FDA panel backs drug for early stage breast cancer
This undated photo provided by Roche, shows the initial treatment drug Perjeta The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a positive review of Perjeta, a breast cancer drug from Roche that could soon become the first pharmaceutical option approved for treating early-stage disease before surgery. (AP Photo/Roche) | AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — A biotech drug from Roche moved one step closer Thursday to becoming the first medicine approved to treat breast cancer before surgery.

The Food and Drug Administration’s panel of cancer experts voted 13-0, with one abstention, that the benefits of Perjeta as an initial treatment for breast cancer outweigh its risks. The recommendation is not binding, but sets the stage for the FDA to clear the drug as the first pharmaceutical option approved to shrink or eliminate tumors before surgery.

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