UPDATE 1-EU approves Roche's Xeloda in colorectal cancer
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ZURICH, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The European Commission has approved Roche Holding AG's (ROG.VX) oral chemotherapy Xeloda for treating metastatic colorectal cancer, the Swiss company said on Monday.
The approval had been expected, after a European Medicines Agency recommendation in December.
"This broad approval means that more patients suffering from colorectal cancer that has spread will now be able to take advantage of effective and innovative treatments with proven patient benefits," Roche said in a statement.
Roche participation certificates, its most widely traded form of equity, were 0.5 percent higher at 200.40 Swiss francs by 0900 GMT, ahead of the European pharmaceuticals sector .SXDP.
"Although widely expected...the extension of Xeloda's EU label in metastatic colorectal cancer is an important milestone for the drug to achieve our sales estimates of approximately 2 billion Swiss francs ($1.84 billion) by 2011," Vontobel analyst Odile Rundquist said in a note. (Reporting by Sam Cage; editing by Sue Thomas)
