Roche wins ear­li­er-than-ex­pect­ed ap­proval for block­buster Tecen­triq in rare soft tis­sue can­cer

Roche’s phar­ma chief Bill An­der­son is tak­ing a vic­to­ry lap be­fore he steps down at the end of the year.

The FDA last week ap­proved Roche’s block­buster PD-L1 drug Tecen­triq for adults and kids suf­fer­ing an ex­treme­ly rare soft tis­sue can­cer, three weeks ahead of the ini­tial goal date.

Alve­o­lar soft part sar­co­ma (ASPS) — a type of soft tis­sue can­cer that starts in con­nec­tive tis­sues such as fat, mus­cles or nerves — is most com­mon­ly found in younger peo­ple, and of­ten at an ad­vanced stage, Roche’s Genen­tech an­nounced last week. How­ev­er, the dis­ease can al­so spread slow­ly over decades. On­ly about 80 cas­es are di­ag­nosed an­nu­al­ly in the US.

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