Millennium Magazine

Bevacimumab or Avastin received FDA approval in February 2004 as a treatment for colorectal cancer. This was followed in 2006 when approval was granted for use of Avastin as a treatment of lung cancer, and again in 2008 when the FDA approved its use for breast cancer. The findings that Genentech, the manufacture of the drug demonstrated by clinical studies showed that when used to treat tumors, Avastin has been an effective treatment to halt the growth of the cancer, and in many cases, the tumors shrink.
A central feature of Avastin, which it so effective against cancer, was his ability to stop the growth of new blood vessels to feed the required tumor growth. Avastin prohibited the function a naturally occurring protein in the body known as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the protein responsible for stimulating the growth of new blood vessels. The Avastin is an anti-VEGF drug, the first by the FDA. Read more »