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Genentech Drug to Fight Common Skin Cancer Gets OK
from the San Francisco Chronicle
Federal regulators Monday approved the first drug for people with advanced forms of basal cell carcinoma, the most common kind of skin cancer, as well as the most common cancer in general in the United States.
The drug, made by South San Francisco's Genentech, a subsidiary of the Swiss drug giant Roche, is designed for patients whose basal cell cancer has spread either locally or to other parts of the body.
Basal cell carcinoma, which forms in the lower part of the outer layer of the skin or epidermis, affects some 2 million Americans each year. While basal cell carcinoma is rarely fatal and is generally considered curable, in a small percentage of patients it can spread and in some cases cannot be treated with surgery or other methods. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug, which is called Erivedge, after an expedited six-month review in advance of the March 8 approval deadline.
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