Drugmaker Roche-Genentech is making a last-ditch effort to keep its drug Avastin available for breast cancer.
The company made its arguments at an unprecedented two- day meeting at the Food and Drug Administration, challenging an earlier 12-1 vote by the agency to revoke approval for the drug as a treatment for breast cancer.
The FDA had said the drug doesn't extend or improve life for breast cancer patients.
Five years after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, Pat Howard said she can't believe she has to beg for the drug that she says is keeping her and many other women alive.
"Due to Avastin, I'm experiencing a quality of life nothing short of miraculous. Both i and my doctors have complete faith in the drug," Howard said.
Dr. Marisa Weiss, founder of BreastCancer.org and a doctor at Lankenau Hospital, added her voice.
"There are women that I take care of for whom Avastin is a critically important medicine," she said.
The drug was approved in 2008 to treat advanced stage breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and is considered incurable.
But last July, the FDA voted to revoke its approval for Avastin, out of concerns about its effectiveness, as well as side effects like holes in the stomach and intestines, severe bleeding, and blood clots.
Vernal Branch of the Virginia Breast Cancer Coalition said, "We believe we need more effective and less toxic treatment."
Nearly 100,000 women have used Avastin.
Regardless of what happens here, Avastin will stay on the market, since it is also approved for colon, lung, kidney, and brain cancer.
And doctors could still prescribe it for breast cancer, however, insurance won't cover it, and one year of treatment can run more than $100,000.
