Last May, researchers at a pharmaceutical conference in Orlando, Florida had tears in their eyes as they were given a standing ovation from an audience of medical specialists. The emotion was sparked by early reports from researchers on a substantial medical trial which convinced them they were witnessing a fundamental breakthrough in the treatment of breast cancer.
Last Thursday, the results of trials were mapped out in full. And hopes appeared to be fully vindicated. The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published conclusions from the first trials of Herceptin.
It reveals "a dramatic and perhaps permanent perturbation in the natural history of the disease, maybe even a cure." Those same researchers concluded that women treated with Herceptin had a 46 percent reduced risk of their breast cancer returning.
For Roche the news could be lucrative. The Swiss giant will own the drug and have it under patent for 20 years. Herceptin, if it continues through the trial process and gets regulatory approval, could boost Roche's annual revenue by a stunning ?2.5 billion, according to analysts, and will be a total vindication of its decision to invest in the biotechnology sector.
Before the trials had even been completed, Herceptin sales grew 58 percent to ?280 million. Herceptin treats an aggressive form of breast cancer known as Her-2 positive.
bow to pressure
In the UK, Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said the drug would be available on the tax-funded National Health Service (NHS). She bowed to pressure after Barbara Clark, a 49-year-old nurse, threatened to take her local health authority to the European Court of Human Rights if it did not prescribe her the drug.
Hewitt's concession will benefit 5,000 of the 35,000 women with breast cancer in the UK.
However, according to the Herceptin Web site "administration can result in the development of certain heart problems, including congestive heart failure. Severe allergic reactions, infusion reactions, and lung problems have been observed."
But Denise Anderson, head of healthcare at Kepler Equities, said: "Roche is providing innovation. I could not care less about the hundreds of anti high-blood pressure products. This drug looks like it will literally give women a new lease of life."
The trials reported in the NEJM involved 3,000 women in the US and 5,000 women in 39 other countries who were randomly allocated treatment with Herceptin after chemotherapy.
As Roche thrives many of the world's other major drug firms are suffering. Pfizer, the world's biggest, is struggling with the loss of patents on key treatments and a healthcare scare linked to the arthritis drug Celebrex. The result saw a 52 percent slump in quarterly profits announced last week.
Pfizer has been criticized for a failure to produce new blockbuster drugs from its research and development unit despite an annual US$7 billion budget.
Meanwhile GlaxoSmithKline has struggled to integrate its US and UK managements after its mega-merger five years ago.
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