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GSK makes EU lapatinib application

02 Apr 2009

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has lodged regulatory paperwork with the European Union (EU) in a bid to expand its use of lapatinib.

The pharmaceutical company has proposed that the drug, known by the brand names Tyverb and Tykerb in Europe and the US respectively, could be used to treat breast cancer in the UK.

A new study, titled EGF30008, was presented to at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in San Antonio last year as part of this application.

Sufferers of the hormone receptor positive metastatic strain of the disease were tested for their reactions to the treatment being used in collaboration with the hormone therapy letrozole.

This combination is "biologically rational" as it works on the two receptors which can develop the disease, according to Debasish Roychowdhury, head of medicines development at the firm''s oncology division.

"If authorised, the combination could provide a cytotoxic chemotherapy-free option for these patients [who suffer from the disease]," she said.

GSK''s Corporate Social Responsibility review for 2008 reiterated the company''s pledge to make their treatments cheaper and more readily available in developing countries.