AVAiL Study Shows Longest Survival in Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Basel, Switzerland (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Final Analysis of Study Confirms Benefit of Avastin(R) for
Patients With Lung Cancer

BASEL, Switzerland, September 15 /PRNewswire/ --

The final analysis of the Avastin in lung study (AVAiL) in
patients with advanced lung cancer has shown that not only did the
drug significantly slow down the disease progression, it also enabled
some patients to survive for over 1 year, the longest survival ever
reported in patients with this advanced disease. The results were
presented today at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for
Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.

The phase III Roche-sponsored AVAiL study in patients with
previously untreated, advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC),
has confirmed that Avastin (bevacizumab) combined with
gemcitabine-cisplatin chemotherapy offers a significant improvement
in the time that patients live without their disease progressing
(progression-free survival; PFS).

Furthermore, although the study was not designed to demonstrate
an overall survival (OS) benefit, it was analysed as a secondary
endpoint. The analysis showed that while the increase in overall
survival was not statistically significant, the median overall
survival for patients in all arms of the study exceeded 13 months -
the longest survival reported in a study of patients with advanced
NSCLC.

AVAiL is the second phase III trial to demonstrate the
significant clinical benefits of Avastin in NSCLC. Previously, the
E4599 study, conducted in the US, showed that adding Avastin to a
different platinum based chemotherapy (carboplatin-paclitaxel)
resulted in a significant improvement in overall survival (its
primary endpoint) compared to chemotherapy alone.

"AVAiL confirms for the second time that Avastin provides
important clinical benefits and the longest survival reported for
patients with advanced non squamous NSCLC," said Professor Christian
Manegold, Professor of Medicine at the Heidelberg University in
Mannheim, Germany and Principal Investigator of the study. "These
results once again support Avastin based therapy as first-line
standard of care in the vast majority of these patients with good
clinical condition."

Data from the E4599 and AVAiL studies formed the basis of
Avastin's European approval in lung cancer in August 2007 which
meant, for the first time, patients could benefit from a treatment
with proven ability to extend survival beyond one-year.

The final analysis of AVAiL is due to be presented at the ESMO
Presidential Symposium:
Abstract No. LBA1
Abstract title: BO17704 (AVAIL): A PHASE III RANDOMISED STUDY
OF FIRST-LINE BEVACIZUMAB COMBINED WITH CISPLATIN/GEMCITABINE (CG) IN
PATIENTS (PTS) WITH ADVANCED OR RECURRENT NON-SQUAMOUS, NON-SMALL CELL
LUNG CANCER (NSCLC)
Author/Presenter: Professor Christian Manegold
Date: Monday 15 September
Time: 15:25 - 15:50
Venue: Auditorium A1

About AVAiL

The AVAiL study is a randomised, controlled, double-blind Phase
III study that included more than 1,000 patients with previously
untreated advanced NSCLC, the most common form of lung cancer, with
histology other than squamous cell. In the AVAiL study patients
received treatment with either Avastin at 7.5 mg/kg or 15 mg/kg +
cisplatin-gemcitabine or placebo + cisplatin-gemcitabine.

The primary objective of the study was to demonstrate superiority
in progression-free survival of both Avastin containing treatment
arms versus gemcitabine-cisplatin chemotherapy alone.

The results of the AVAiL trial showed that by adding Avastin to a
cisplatin/gemcitabine regimen patients benefited from a significant
increase in the time they live without their cancer progressing over
chemotherapy alone. No new safety signals were observed.

Additional information:

http://www.avastin-info.com

http://www.Roche.com

http://www.thenewsmarket.com (video clips about Avastin in
broadcast standard, free of charge)

For more information please contact
Roche,
Sriranjan Chaudhuri,
+41-61-687-5104,
sriranjan.chaudhuri@Roche.com ;
Galliard Healthcare,
Jon Harris,
+44-20-7663-2261,
jharris@galliardhealth.com .

ots Originaltext: Roche Pharmaceuticals
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
For more information please contact: Roche, Sriranjan Chaudhuri,
+41-61-687-5104, sriranjan.chaudhuri@Roche.com ; Galliard Healthcare,
Jon Harris, +44-20-7663-2261, jharris@galliardhealth.com .