Roche invests about 190 Mio Swiss Francs in infusion-free administration device with new Herceptin formulation

The new infusion-free device will deliver an innovative Herceptin (trastuzumab) formulation developed with Halozyme Therapeutics’s “Enhanze” technology. This Herceptin formulation together with the ready-to-use administration device allows for injection of larger volumes of medicines into the tissue under the skin. Medicines which are currently administered by infusion in a hospital could therefore be self-administered via a subcutaneous injection.

Today, breast cancer patients treated with Herceptin generally receive the drug as an infusion in a hospital; the infusion time is around 60 minutes. In contrast, subcutaneous Herceptin administration takes only about five minutes and means that patients with early HER2-positive breast cancer completing their one year of Herceptin therapy would have greater convenience of being able to receive treatment at their family doctor’s office or at home. It could also help to maximize the efficient use of hospital resources and reduce costs. Pat Yang, Head of Roche Pharma Global Technical Operations said: “We always strive to improve our products and manufacturing technologies, which in turn benefit our patients. This innovative formulation and the associated new device are designed to simplify patients’ lives. There is also hope that patients will experience fewer infusion reactions due to the slower absorption after subcutaneous administration."

A phase III trial investigating subcutaneous Herceptin is underway.

--- END press release Roche invests about 190 Mio Swiss Francs in infusion-free administration device with new Herceptin formulation ---

  F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (company entry)