$CRIS Investigational Skin Cancer Drug Found Effective In Mid-stage Study

Investigational Skin Cancer Drug Found Effective In Mid-stage Study: "(RTTNews) -

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche Holding AG's (RHHBY.PK: News ) unit Genentech Monday stated that its investigational drug vismodegib showed positive results in a pivotal phase II study in people with basal cell carcinoma, an advanced form of skin cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, skin cancer is the most common type of all known cancers and over 2 million skin cancers are diagnosed annually. Eighty percent of these are basal cell carcinomas or BCCs, which grow slowly from the bottom (basal), layer of the epidermis, or the outer skin layer.

BCCs develop on sun-exposed areas such as the head and the neck, rarely reach an advanced stage. But, in extreme cases, they can be incurable and even fatal.

Vismodegib is an investigational, oral medicine discovered by Genentech and jointly validated with therapeutic drug developer Curis Inc. (CRIS: News ). It is designed to target the underlying molecular driver of BCC. Genentech and its parent Roche are responsible for the clinical development and commercialization of the compound."