Genentech wins approval for immunotherapy drug

Federal regulators on Wednesday approved Genentech Inc.’s new therapy to treat bladder cancer, clearing the way for the South San Francisco drugmaker’s first agent that uses the body’s own immune system to fight the disease.

Instead of attacking the disease itself, immunotherapy agents work on the immune system, typically by targeting how the cancer cells avoid being detected by the body’s natural defense mechanisms.

“Tecentriq is a new medicine that can help work with the immune system to treat people with a type of bladder cancer that progressed after platinum-based chemotherapy,” said Dr. Sandra Horning, chief medical officer and head of global product development for Genentech, which is owned by Roche.

The FDA approved Tecentriq to treat a common form of bladder cancer called urothelial carcinoma in patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease who have already been treated with the standard platinum-based chemotherapy.

“This biology that relate to the immune system is not specific to one cancer,” said Dr. Daniel Chen, head of cancer immunotherapy research for Genentech, explaining that the agent is already being tested on other cancers including lung, breast and melanoma.

While the approval was limited to patients who’ve already been treated with traditional chemotherapy, Chen said immunotherapies like Tecentriq may be even more effective when used earlier in the disease process and in combination with other therapies.

People diagnosed with bladder cancer tend to male, older (the average age at diagnosis is 73) and a history of smoking is the single highest risk factor.