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July 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administrationapproved AstraZeneca Plc's drug, Iressa, as a first-linetreatment for a common form of lung cancer.
The FDA said on Tuesday the approval was based on resultsfrom a trial of 106 patients with previously untreated non-smallcell lung cancer. (http://1.usa.gov/1Sjw5eo)
The drug was previously approved for use only in patientswho did not respond to chemotherapy.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death inthe United States. The National Cancer Institute estimates morethan 158,000 will die from the disease this year.
The approval could breath new life into the drug, whosesales fell 5 percent to $144 million in the first quarter.
Drugs like Iressa and Roche Holding AG's Tarcevahave been on the market for several years and provide a valuabletreatment option for some lung cancer patients with a certaingenetic mutation. (Reporting by Amrutha Penumudi in Bengaluru; Editing by KirtiPandey and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
