Herceptin is a Her2 targeting humanized antibody and has become the standard of care to treat women with Her2 positive breast cancer. The fist in class drug from Genentech/Roche posted global sales of more than US$ 3 bln in 2006, making it an attractive target for follow on developments. Not only Genentech is active to extend the the Herceptin label by combination treatments and to pursue next generation molecules, many other companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Wyeth, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, Pfizer, Merck & Co., and GlaxoSmithKline are developing novel treatments targeting Her2. Among the selective Her2 antagonists in development are many vaccines. Other approaches for small molecules are to target the Her family including Her1 (EGF-R), Her2, Her3 and Her4. Still another approach is to broaden the spectrum of targets by combining Her2 with the receptor tyrosine kinases of e.g. VEGF-R or IGF-1R and with e.g. HDAC in small molecule projects.


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