Genentech Says Herceptin Could Cure Breast Cancer

Genentech (San Francisco, USA), biotechnology company, says its drug Herceptin could cure breast cancer. Scientific studies, the results of which were published by the New England Journal of Medicine on 20 Oct 2005, show that Herceptin is highly efficient for women who were diagnosed with breast cancer at an early stage. So far, Herceptin has been prescribed to women with cancer in an advanced stage, when the tumour has metastasized to other organs. The women whose breast tumour is not bigger t han 1 cm now have nearly a 100% chance for entire cure thanks to Herceptin in combination with chemotherapy. However, treatment with Herceptin, which was developed by Genentech and which is produced by Roche (Switzerland), is very expensive. It costs CEK 1.5 mil/y in conversion. Roughly 5,000 women/y are diagnosed with breast cancer in the Czech Republic. About 2,000 women/y die of this disease.