Roche said Friday that the European Commission approved Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with standard chemotherapy as a front-line treatment for women with advanced ovarian cancer. The decision follows the adoption of a positive opinion on the filing in September by the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use.

Hal Barron, the company's head of global product development, noted that the clearance "marks the first major treatment advance in newly diagnosed ovarian cancer in 15 years,” adding that "this is the fifth tumour type for which Avastin has been approved in Europe."

The drugmaker said that in the late-stage GOG0218 and ICON7 trials, results demonstrated that women with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer who received Avastin plus chemotherapy, and then continued on Avastin alone, lived significantly longer without their disease getting worse compared to those who received chemotherapy only.

(Ref: Smartmoney, Roche, MarketWatch)