It is possible that these new results will allow Tarceva to steal some of that thunder.
Then test results showed that her tumor cells did not have the mutation that Tarceva targets.
Sara was started on the Tarceva, which produced an itchy, acne-like facial rash and numbing tiredness.
Goddard emphasizes that investors shouldn't look at today's acquisition as having anything to do with Tarceva's development.
In a research report, Ende presents a two-pronged argument that the market may be too giddy about Tarceva's results.
When doubts emerged about Avastin and Tarceva, other clinical trials that ultimately proved the medicines' worth were already ongoing.
Not far behind was OSI Pharmaceuticals's Tarceva, which worked in a similar way.
Indeed, Goddard's decision to buy Eyetech may be based partly on his experience with Tarceva--which was a rollercoaster ride.
Ongoing trials are testing Herceptin in combination with Tarceva in advanced breast cancer.
Tarceva from Roche extends the life of pancreatic cancer patients by two weeks.
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Tarceva, from Genentech, had shown a benefit in pancreatic cancer, but some wondered whether the drug's benefits outweighed its risks.
When ImClone's Erbitux, OSI's Tarceva and Astra's Iressa were unveiled, they were hailed as a new kind of cancer drug.
Studies using tissue samples are difficult in lung cancer patients, but some will begin soon with Tarceva at Memorial Sloan-Kettering.
"The most important trial we have is this phase-III single-agent study which compares daily Tarceva with best-supported care, " says Goddard.
And because Tarceva, which is not yet approved, has been shown to extend survival in last-ditch patients, doctors may favor it.
As with Tarceva, Genentech issued a press release shortly before the 2003 ASCO meeting, saying that Avastin had extended patients' lives.
The Tarceva and Avastin results also could be important for another reason.
One drug, Tarceva for pancreatic cancer, improves survival by just two weeks.
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Another early-stage trial is combining Tarceva and Avastin in colon cancer patients.
"We all think and hope that Tarceva has blockbuster potential, " says Goddard.
It was only a year ago that many biotech watchers were united in predicting failure for both Tarceva and Genentech's real star, Avastin.
But OSI and its partners have a whole quiver full of studies testing Tarceva in a variety of cancers, with and without chemotherapy.
It is tracking patients in these trials to see if genetic differences in their cancers could account for whether or not Tarceva works.
Last April, Tarceva, promoted with OSI Pharmaceuticals (nasdaq: OSIP - news - people ), extended survival in non-small-cell lung cancer patients.
Goddard says he doesn't foresee any problems with the partnership with Genentech going forward--the Tarceva and Macugen teams will remain completely separate within OSI.
Tarceva has already produced promising results in a trial on patients with non-small cell lung cancer who had already been heavily treated with chemotherapy.
But there were chemotherapy options, notably a relatively new drug called Tarceva, which targets a gene mutation commonly found in lung cancers of female non-smokers.
In midstage trials Genentech reported promising results against solid kidney tumors using a combination of its colon cancer drug, Avastin, and another targeted agent, Tarceva.
At some point, Herceptin, Avastin and Tarceva all looked like duds.
The trial combines Avastin with Genentech's experimental drug Tarceva, which is being developed with OSI Pharmaceuticals (nasdaq: OSIP - news - people ).
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