Schering-Plough on Friday scored another win for its brain cancer drug Temodal (temozolomide), after the latter was given the thumbs up by Europe’s scientific approval committee for the first line treatment of the most common form of the disease – glioblastoma multiforme. The move significantly expands the market for the anticancer agent, which was previously only registered for use in patients who had failed on standard therapy, and follows a similar nod of approval from the US Food and Drug Administration back in March where it is known as Temodar [[17/03/05c]].
Full marketing clearance looks set to be granted in three to four months’ time by the European Commission, after a review of a 500-patient Phase III trial showing more than twice as many patients in the Temodal group survived two years, compared with 10% of those who received radiotherapy alone.
