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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Genentech's colon cancer drug Avastin® (bevacizumab) to be used in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

"Bevacizumab, in combination with chemotherapy, is the first therapy in 10 years to improve on standard first-line treatment for advanced lung cancer and the first FDA-approved therapy ever to extend survival for these patients beyond one year in a large, randomized clinical study," said Alan Sandler, M.D., director of Medical Thoracic Oncology at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tenn., and lead investigator on the E4599 trial. "With this survival benefit, bevacizumab represents an important therapy for many advanced lung cancer patients fighting this difficult disease."

For the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, the monthly price of Avastin therapy was set at about $4,400. Vecasue advanced lung cancer would require higher dose, the firm has estimated the monthly cost of Avastin at $8,800, and the average cost per course of therapy in NSCLC is approximately $56,000. Avastin is covered by most insurers and Medicare for its approved indications. Read more about Avastin and its clinical development here and from Genetech's press release.