(Reuters) – AstraZeneca Plc and Merck & Co Inc said on Thursday that their drug, Lynparza, won approval in China as a first line treatment for a form of ovarian cancer.

The approval in China is based on the results from a late-stage study in which Lynparza lowered the risk of disease progression or death by 70% when compared to placebo.

Lynparza is currently approved in 65 countries for the maintenance treatment of platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer, the companies said.

(This story corrects typo in the first paragraph)

(Reporting by Aakash Jagadeesh Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)

tagreuters.com2019binary_LYNXMPEFB40CI-VIEWIMAGE

tagreuters.com2019binary_LYNXMPEFB40CM-VIEWIMAGE

Author