Lung cancer
Summit Therapeutics’ ivonescimab has the potential to challenge Merck’s blockbuster checkpoint inhibitor in non-small cell lung cancer, but experts stress the need for diverse and overall survival data.
Despite meeting the primary endpoint in a Phase III study, two patients treated with Merck and Daiichi Sankyo’s experimental antibody-drug conjugate died in a Phase III non-small cell lung cancer study, though the deaths have not been linked to patritumab deruxtecan.
High response rates reported by GSK and iTeos at the 2024 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress offer a ray of light for anti-TIGIT therapies after a string of failures.
Despite the disappointing late-stage results in non-small cell lung cancer, Jefferies analyst Stephen Barker contends the likelihood of FDA approval “remains high” for the experimental antibody-drug conjugate, though the regulator is now more likely to convene an advisory committee.
In advanced non-small cell lung cancer, Summit Therapeutics’ ivonescimab appears to be 49% more effective at reducing the risk of disease progression or death versus Merck’s Keytruda in a late-stage study. However, analysts contend the caveat is that the trial was conducted in an entirely Chinese patient population.
Follow-up data from the MARIPOSA study show a favorable overall survival trend versus Tagrisso in EGFR-mutated advanced non-small cell lung cancer. The findings come just weeks after the Rybrevant-Lazcluze combination was approved for the first-line treatment.
Using a computational biomarker, the companies say they can identify which patients would derive significant clinical benefit from their experimental antibody-drug conjugate. AstraZeneca and Roche are co-developing and commercializing a companion diagnostic for the biomarker.
Bispecific antibodies and anti-TIGIT therapies both appear to be writing comeback stories as cancer experts head to Barcelona for the 2024 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress. Radioligand therapies and synthetic lethality assets are also attracting attention.
The pharma continued its clinical losing streak on Thursday with the announcement that it is discontinuing late-stage studies of the anti-PD-1 therapy in non-small cell lung cancer and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.
Johnson & Johnson announced Tuesday that the FDA has approved Rybrevant with Lazcluze as a first-line chemotherapy-free treatment for patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer.
PRESS RELEASES