CHMP recommends Zercepac for treating breast or gastric cancer.- Accord Healthcare

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorisation for the medicinal product Zercepac (trastuzumab), from Accord Healthcare, intended for the treatment of breast and gastric cancer. Zercepac will be available as powder for concentrate for solution for infusion (150 mg). The active substance of Zercepac is trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody (ATC code: L01XC03) that binds with high affinity and specificity to HER2, inhibiting proliferation of tumour cells that overexpress HER2.

Zercepac is a biosimilar medicinal product. It is highly similar to the reference product Herceptin (trastuzumab), which was authorised in the EU on 28 August 2000. Data show that Zercepac has comparable quality, safety and efficacy to Herceptin (trastuzumab).

Zercepac is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) as monotherapy for the treatment of those patients who have received at least two chemotherapy regimens for their metastatic disease. Prior chemotherapy must have included at least an anthracycline and a taxane unless patients are unsuitable for these treatments. Hormone receptor positive patients must also have failed hormonal therapy, unless patients are unsuitable for these treatments.
It is also indicated in combination with paclitaxel for the treatment of those patients who have not received chemotherapy for their metastatic disease and for whom an anthracycline is not suitable, in combination with docetaxel for the treatment of those patients who have not received chemotherapy for their metastatic disease and in combination with an aromatase inhibitor for the treatment of postmenopausal patients with hormone-receptor positive MBC, not previously treated with trastuzumab.

Zercepac is also indicated for the treatment of adult patients with HER2 positive early breast cancer (EBC) following surgery, chemotherapy (neoadjuvant or adjuvant) and radiotherapy (if applicable), following adjuvant chemotherapy with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide, in combination with paclitaxel or docetaxel, or in combination with adjuvant chemotherapy consisting of docetaxel and carboplatin, or in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by adjuvant Zercepac therapy, for locally advanced (including inflammatory) disease or tumours > 2 cm in diameter. Zercepac should only be used in patients with metastatic or early breast cancer whose tumours have either HER2 overexpression or HER2 gene amplification as determined by an accurate and validated assay.

Finally Zercepac in combination with capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin is also indicated for the treatment of adult patients with HER2 positive metastatic adenocarcinoma of the stomach or gastro-oesophageal junction who have not received prior anti-cancer treatment for their metastatic disease. Zercepac should only be used in patients with metastatic gastric cancer (MGC) whose tumours have HER2 overexpression as defined by IHC2+ and a confirmatory SISH or FISH result, or by an IHC 3+ result. Accurate and validated assay methods should be used.