BEIJING, Oct. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- GlaxoSmithKline PLC,
Europe's biggest drugmaker, is set to seek European Union approval for its
experimental breast cancer drug Tykerb this week, a spokesman said on Sunday.
The move has been expected since Sept. 18 when Glaxo
said it had asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve Tykerb as a
treatment for advanced breast cancer -- meaning cancer that has spread to other
parts of the body -- in combination with Swiss Roche Holding AG's Xeloda cancer
drug.
Tykerb, a potential rival to Roche's Herceptin, is
one of three cancer medicines that Glaxo hopes to launch, signaling its arrival
as a major force in oncology. The others are cervical cancer vaccine Cervarix
and platelet-booster eltrombopag.
Glaxo hopes Tykerb will come to the market some time
next year.
Tykerb is vitally important commercially to Glaxo as
it is one of the most high-profile products coming through its new drugs
pipeline. Analysts at Morgan Stanley reckon it could net Glaxo at least 1.8
bln U.S. dollars a year in sales by 2012. Enditem
(Agencies)
