Genentech’s Tecentriq Stakes New Claim With FDA Lung Cancer Approval

US FDA approval for Tecentriq (atezolizumab) as a second-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) allows Genentech Inc. to stake its claim in an indication where its predecessors have been approved for a year or more – and where the Roche subsidiary believes it can win market share.

Genentech said on Oct. 18 that the FDA approved Tecentriq to treat people with metastatic NSCLC whose disease progressed during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy. The label essentially treats Tecentriq as a third-line monotherapy for lung cancer patients whose tumors have an EGFR or ALK mutation and whose disease progressed after treatment with an oral EGFR or ALK inhibitor and chemotherapy