Last month, an FDA advisory panel voted 12-to-1 to recommend the agency revoke the indication for advanced breast cancer for Avastin, a drug which two recent studies show does not significantly increase progression-free survival in patients. But over 6,500 people and counting disagree with the panel’s assessment and are petitioning the FDA to maintain Avastin’s indication for breast cancer. Christi Turnage, a registered nurse and breast cancer survivor who started the petition, believes Avastin has the ability to help other cancer patients as much as it helped her, and therefore, should not be pulled from the market.
In an LA Times op-ed published last month, ACSH's Jeff Stier and ACSH trustee Dr. Henry Miller argued that drug cost may have had an undue influence on the FDA advisory panel’s recommendation.
If you're interested in signing the petition, you can find it here.