Roche Melanoma Drug Wins European Green Light

European regulators have recommended approval of a targeted melanoma drug from Swiss group Roche Holding AG, opening the way to a new treatment option for patients with the deadliest form of skin cancer. The green light for Zelboraf from the European Medicines Agency -- which Roche said on Friday it expected to be formally endorsed by the European Commission in February -- follows U.S. approval in August. The new drug is given as a twice-daily pill and is designed to be used alongside a companion diagnostic test, also from Roche, that identifies which patients have a specific genetic mutation that means they will benefit from the treatment.