US panel backs Lilly drug for cancer prevention

Last Updated: 2007-07-24 17:17:36 -0400 (Reuters Health)

ROCKVILLE, Maryland (Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co.'s osteoporosis drug Evista should be approved for reducing the risk of breast cancer in some women, a U.S. advisory panel said on Tuesday.

The Food and Drug Administration will make the final decision but usually follows panel recommendations.

Lilly already sells Evista now for treatment and prevention of osteoporosis in women past menopause.

The panel of experts from outside the FDA voted 8-6 to urge Evista's approval for reducing the risk of invasive breast cancer in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

Members also voted 10-4 in favor of clearing the drug for lowering the chances of getting breast cancer in postmenopausal women at high risk for the disease. One panel member abstained from both votes.

The generic drug tamoxifen is the only medicine approved for preventing breast cancer.

Sales of Evista, known generically as raloxifene, topped $1 billion in 2006. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine)