Breast cancer breakthrough: World’s first subcutaneous therapy launched in India

The world’s first subcutaneous therapy for breast cancer has been launched in India. It reduces treatment time by a massive 90 percent

The treatment by Roche called PHESGO is the first-ever fixed-dose formulation in oncology that combines two monoclonal antibodies: Perjeta (pertuzumab) and Herceptin (trastuzumab) with hyaluronidase.

It is administered via an under-the-skin injection in combination with intravenous (IV) chemotherapy for the treatment of early and metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer.

 Roche Pharma said it has combined two monoclonal antibodies that can be administered by a single SC injection.

The single-dose jab takes a few minutes compared to hours with IV formulations for each round of treatment, thus reducing chair time for patients by 90 percent.

It also provides a faster, more convenient, and less invasive means to receive breast cancer therapy.

PHESGO was first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June 2020, and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in December 2020, and also has been recognized in the NCCN treatment guidelines.

In India, PHESGO was approved by the DCGI in October 2021 and the import licence was granted in January 2022.

Globally, over 17,000 breast cancer patients have benefitted from PHESGO as of December 2021, Roche said.

As per the phase II study, 85 percent of people receiving treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer preferred treatment with PHESGO compared to IV administration due to less time in the clinic and more comfortable treatment administration.

“PHESGO is a pathbreaking drug that will provide convenience and improve the quality of life of patients suffering from breast cancer by significantly reducing the in-clinic time for them,” Roche Pharma India CEO and Managing Director V. Simpson Emmanuel said in a statement.