Genentech has submitted a NDA for vismodegib to the FDA for the treatment of advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC), when surgery is considered inappropriate. Vismodegib is an investigational, oral, targeted medicine designed to selectively inhibit signaling in the Hedgehog pathway, which is implicated in more than 90% of BCC cases. BCC is the most common type of skin cancer, and is generally considered curable by surgery. However, when it advances, BCC can cause disfiguring and debilitating effec...