GSK seeks to expand use of cancer drug

PHILADELPHIA GlaxoSmithKline has submitted regulatory applications to expand the use of one of its cancer drugs, the British drug maker announced Wednesday.

GSK said it submitted the application for Tyverb (lapatinib) as a first-line treatment for advanced breast cancer to the Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency.

The submission was based on a recent study presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December that evaluated Tyverb in combination with Novartis’ Femara (letrozole), a hormone therapy, in women with hormone receptor-positive advanced breast cancer.

“Lapatinib with a hormone therapy is a biologically rational targeted treatment, since the combination attacks two specific receptors that drive the cancer growth,” head of medicines development for GSK Oncology Debasish Roychowdhury said. “If authorized, the combination could provide a cytotoxic, chemotherapy-free option for these patients, and we look forward to working with regulatory agencies to advance the availability of this regimen as a new, oral option for patients in first-line breast cancer.”