By Stephen Nakrosis

Genentech on Friday said the Food and Drug Administration approved Tecentriq in combination with Avastin to treat people with the most common form of liver cancer.

Genentech said the FDA has approved Tecentriq, or atezolizumab, in combination with Avastin, or bevacizumab, "for the treatment of people with unresectable or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma who have not received prior systemic therapy."

Tecentriq in combination with Avastin "is the first and only cancer immunotherapy regimen approved for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma," Genentech said. "Tecentriq combination improved overall survival and progression-free survival compared to the previous standard of care."

The application review was "conducted under the FDA's Project Orbis initiative, which provides a framework for concurrent submission and review of oncology medicines among international partners," the company said. Simultaneous applications were made to regulators in the U.S., Australia, Canada and Singapore under Project Orbis.

Genentech is a member of the Roche Group. 



  Write to Stephen Nakrosis at stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com