Roche's MabThera expands licence in leukaemia

MabThera has been approved in Europe for use in previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, which Roche says will offer new hope to patients.

The blockbuster drug was earlier this year recommended for use in previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), and the new license will allow it to reach a new subset of patients that have failed to respond to other therapies.

Professor Tadeusz Robak of the university of Lodz in Poland, who was principal investigator for the latest REACH trial for the drug, said: "This approval will make MabThera plus chemotherapy the gold-standard therapy for people living with relapsed or refractory CLL."

He added: "Although all patients with CLL will unfortunately eventually relapse, treatment with MabThera significantly prolongs remission. This will help ease the burden of the cancer and enable patients to enjoy the relative freedom that comes with this relief from symptoms."

CLL is the most common type of leukaemia in adults, accounting for approximately 30-40% of all forms of leukaemia in Western countries. Overall incidence of CLL is around three per 100,000 and is 30% more common in men than women.

MabThera is already a blockbuster product thanks to its use in non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and it has also been used to treat the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis since 2006.

The drug, which gained NICE approval in the UK as a first-line treatment for CLL in July, helped Roche deliver a solid performance last year. This saw sales of the company's cancer portfolio, which also includes the blockbuster treatments Herceptin and Avastin, rise 15%.