Roche brings drug for small cell lung cancer to India

Drug firm Roche India on Thursday said it has launched Atezolizumab used for the treatment of small cell lung cancer in India after getting nod from Drugs Controller General of India. "Atezolizumab is the first cancer immunotherapy to receive an approval in India for the first line treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) when given in combination with chemotherapy," Roche India said in a statement.

The cancer immunotherapy harnesses the person's immune system to combat cancer more effectively for better results, it added. "Roche is committed to bring to India all the innovations being developed in its pipeline, to benefit patients," Lara Bezerra, chief purpose officer at Roche Products (India) said.

Launching Atezolizumab is an important step for small cell lung cancer patients in India, she added.