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Encouraging Response to Roche's New MEK-Inhibitor in Melanoma Patients
Cobimetinib (MEK inhibitor), used in combination with Zelboraf (BRAF inhibitor), improved survival without disease progression.
An experimental drug from Roche helped people with an advanced form of skin cancer live longer without their disease worsening when used in combination with another treatment, the Swiss drugmaker said on Monday.
Pharmaceutical companies are looking to combination therapy to yield better results and drug cocktails are expected to be crucial as oncologists seek to block cancer on multiple fronts.
Cobimetinib, which is being developed in collaboration with Exelixis Inc, is designed to be used with another Roche drug called Zelboraf for patients with tumors that have a mutation in a gene known as BRAF that allows melanoma cells to grow.
About half of all melanomas have the genetic aberration the drugs target.
Results of a Phase III study involving 495 patients previously untreated for advanced melanoma found those taking both drugs lived significantly longer without their disease worsening compared to those taking Zelboraf alone.
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Source: Reuters
