New drug brings relief to carcinoma patients - Monoclonal Antibodies

New drug brings relief to carcinoma patients
September 20, 2006
Biopeer
Epithelial cancers, also called carcinomas, are the most widespread of all cancers. Carcinomas account for about 85 per cent of all cancers. In fact in South Asia, around 100 per 100,000 population suffer from such cancers, and the highest rates of head and neck cancers are reported in countries like India and Sri Lanka. Keeping this statistic in mind the newly launched drug by Indian biotechnology major Biocon Ltd couldn?t have been launched at a better time.
Biocon Ltd has launched 'Biomab-Egfr', a therapeutic monoclonal antibody-based drug for treating solid tumors of epithelial origin. The drug will block the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) responsible for the proliferation of cancer cells. According to Biocon?s CMD, ?This launch spearheads Biocon's foray into proprietary immunotherapeutics and today we join the exclusive league of monoclonal antibody developers worldwide?. The drug is the first of its kind to be clinically developed in India and is the first anti-EGFR humanised monoclonal antibody for cancer. It would be made available commercially globally.
Biomab-Egfr is to be used in combination with radiation therapy or chemotherapy in patients with positive expression of EGFR in of skin cancer. The drug will be made available as a unit carton of four 10 ml vials. While therapeutic monoconal antibodies have been introduced in the country by MNCs, they are beyond the reach of a majority of cancer patients due to their prohibitive cost. Hence Biocon plans to price the drug at a price that is 40 per cent lower than that of available drugs in the market.