Avastin Quarterly Sales Up 34% Year Over Year

Sales of Genentech's (NYSE: DNA) Avastin in the first quarter this year are reported to have increased 34% over the same quarter last year from $398 to $533 million dollars.  When they file their form 10-Q with the SEC, I believe you will find that Avastin sales in metastatic colorectal cancer over that period are more-or-less flat, while the lion's share of that increase comes as a result of Genentech's having received FDA approval of for its use in combination with chemotherapy agents carboplatin and paclitaxel for first-line treatment of patients with unresectable, locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer.  That FDA approval came on Oct. 11, 2006.  While not yet FDA approved for treatment of breast cancer, I believe an increasing number of oncologists are also using Avastin off-label in this indication, which also contributed to the increase.  Additionally, opthamologists are using Avastin off-label in the treatment of choroidal neovascular membrane (CNV) in age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Avastin (bevacizumab) is an anti-VEGF humanized antibody approved for use in combination with intravenous 5-fluorouracil based chemotherapy as a treatment for patients with first- or second-line metastatic cancer of the colon or rectum.  VEGF is an acronym for “vascular endothelial growth factor,” a protein that stimulates the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing vasculature.