Data deluge for CDK4/CDK6 inhibitors in breast cancer
Abstracts released Wednesday ahead of next month's American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting showed strong survival and response rate data for cyclin dependent kinase 4 ( CDK4) and CDK6 inhibitors from Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY) to treat breast cancer. Separately, Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN) said Wednesday that it would stop early a trial of its own CDK4/CDK6 inhibitor for breast cancer following a positive interim analysis.
As of Feb. 26, Pfizer's Ibrance palbociclib plus letrozole led to progression-free survival (PFS) of 24.8 months vs. 14.5 months for letrozole plus placebo (p<0.000001) in the Phase III PALOMA-2 study, meeting the trial's primary endpoint. The objective response rate (ORR) for the Ibrance combo was 42.1% vs. 34.7% for letrozole alone (p=0.031). The 666-patient study evaluated Ibrance as a first-line treatment for estrogen receptor-positive, HER2-negative, advanced or metastatic breast cancer in postmenopausal women. ...