Protesters push FDA on Genentech breast cancer drug

Protesters outside the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s    International meeting in Boston are marching in support of a potential breast cancer therapy, which patients say is being held up by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration despite its power to save lives.

The drug, known as T-DM1, is a combination of the approved drug Herceptin, made by Swiss drug maker Roche’s Genentech unit in California, combined with a cell-killing agent made by Waltham, Mass.-based Immunogen Inc. (Nasdaq: IMGN). The drug candidate is indicated for patients with HER2+ breast cancer, which is one of the deadliest forms.