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(Adds context, background on rival treatments)
By Aakash B and Pushkala Aripaka
Sept 21 (Reuters) - The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has
recommended approval for Lynparza in patients with a form of
prostate cancer and as a first-line maintenance treatment for a
form of advanced ovarian cancer, the British drugmaker
AstraZeneca said on Monday.
Prostate cancer is the second-most common type of cancer in
men worldwide, while ovarian cancer is the fifth most common
cause of cancer death in Europe.
The EMA recommendation follows positive regulatory updates
for Lynparza, which AstraZeneca has developed with Merck
& Co Inc as it faces competition from British rival
GlaxoSmithKline on cancer drugs.
Lynparza became the first marketed PARP drug with a U.S.
approval for ovarian cancer in 2014. PARP inhibitors are a
growing focus for drug research, with potential for use in
breast, lung and prostate cancers.
Last week, GSK's cancer treatment Zejula, which is also a
PARP inhibitor, won positive recommendation from the EU watchdog
as a first option to keep advanced ovarian cancer at bay in
women who have responded to chemotherapy.
Zejula competes with rival PARP inhibitors, a class of
treatments that work by blocking enzymes involved in repairing
damaged DNA, thereby helping kill cancer cells, from AstraZeneca
and Clovis Oncology.
Monday's recommendation for approval from the EMA's
Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CMPH) comes
after Lynparza won EU approval in July for treating a form of
pancreatic cancer.
While final approvals are up to the European Commission, it
generally follows the CHMP's recommendation and endorses them
within a couple of months.
AstraZeneca also said it is exploring additional trials in
metastatic prostate cancer for Lynparza, and expects to publish
data on a separate late-stage trial in the second half of 2021.
(Reporting by Aakash Jagadeesh Babu and Pushkala Aripaka in
Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Alexander Smith)
