First subcutaneous breast cancer jab

THE world’s first subcutaneous therapy for breast cancer that is effective and reduces treatment time by a massive 90% has been launched in India, Roche Pharma said yesterday.

The treatment, called Phesgo, is the first fixed dose formulation in oncology that combines two monoclonal antibodies – Perjeta (pertuzumab) and Herceptin (trastuzumab) with hyaluronidase.

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

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

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

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