Glaxo seeks European OK for its breast cancer drug

LONDON -- GlaxoSmithKline PLC said yesterday it is seeking regulatory approval to sell its breast cancer drug Tykerb -- one of the most promising high earners in its pipeline of new medicines -- in Europe.

Glaxo, Europe's largest drug maker, also revealed it has agreed to buy CNS Inc., the US-based manufacturer of Breathe Right nasal strips and FiberChoice fiber supplements, for around $566 million.

Glaxo has already lodged an application with the Food and Drug Administration to approve Tykerb.

Glaxo is applying to the European Medicines Agency to market the pill in Europe in combination with Roche Holding AG's chemotherapy treatment Xeloda, for the treatment of advanced breast cancer in women.

The company said it hopes to launch Tykerb, also known as lapatinib ditosylate, in both markets next year, but declined to comment on its sales prospects.

The findings of an international study on the drug presented this year to the American Society of Clinical Oncology found that it delayed the growth of advanced breast cancer in women who had stopped responding to rival Roche Holding AG's drug Herceptin and were out of treatment options.