Swiss drug maker Roche's colon cancer drug Avastin has been approved by Swiss medical authorities to pave the way for it to be launched in other European countriesday.
Avastin, which works by starving cancers of their blood supply, has been approved as a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic cancer of the colon or rectum in combination with intravenous chemotherapy.
With peak annual sales estimated at between one billion and two billion Swiss francs ( €650 million to €1.3 billion), the drug promises to help drive growth at Roche, the world's number one cancer drug producer thanks to products developed by its US biotechnology division Genentech.
Co-developed with Genentech, Avastin was approved in the United States in February and racked up sales of 450 million Swiss francs in its first seven months on the market.
Swiss approval for the drug, known generically as bevacizumab, had been expected and analysts are awaiting marketing approval from the European Union any time soon.
Avastin is also being tested for potential use in many other types of cancer that strike the kidney, pancreas, breast, lymph system, bladder, lung and prostate.