(Washington, DC)– US Representative Sue Myrick (NC-09) and US Representative Phil Gingrey (GA-11) have written a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius expressing concern over the pending Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision regarding approval of a drug called Avastin for use in breast cancer patients.

On July 20^th, the Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee recommended against continued approval of Avastin by a vote of 12 to 1.  A final determination by the FDA about whether Avastin will be approved for use in metastatic breast cancer patients is expected in the near future.

“We respect the scientific integrity of the committee, and the need to carefully weigh the effectiveness of oncologic drugs for all of their indications,” Rep. Myrick, a breast cancer survivor, and Rep. Gingrey, an OB-GYN physician, wrote in their letter.  “However, we are particularly concerned about the speed with which it appears FDA may be moving toward making a final approval decision for Avastin’s breast cancer indication.  A truncated timeline may not allow for sufficient consideration of the science used to support the committee’s decision, nor time to properly weigh dissenting views.”

Click here to read the full letter.