Aredia For Bone Metastases From Breast Cancer

Chiron Therapeutics and Ciba have been granted approval in the USA to market their bisphosphonate drug Aredia (pamidronate disodium for injection) for the treatment of patients with osteolytic bone lesions of breast cancer in conjunction with standard therapy.

Aredia was first approved in the USA for the treatment of moderate or severe hypercalcemia associated with malignancy in 1991, and gained a second indication for the treatment of Paget's disease in 1993. It was then approved in September 1995 for use in combination with standard treatment for osteolytic bone lesions in patients with multiple myeloma.

Chiron and Ciba hope that the new indication will expand the potential market for the drug significantly. Approximately 100,000 US women with breast cancer are also afflicted with bone metastases, which can cause serious skeletal complications, including bone fractures, spinal cord compression, impaired mobility and chronic, debilitating bone pain.