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Pfizer drug beats AZ rival in halting lung cancer

pharmafile | June 6, 2017 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Research and Development NSCLC, Pfizer 

New data from late-stage trials suggests that Pfizer’s dacomitinib beat out AstraZeneca’s rival treatment Iressa (gefitinib) at halting the progression of EGFR-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), albeit with a higher prevalence of side-effects.

Like older treatments, dacomitinib targets abnormal epidermal growth factor receptor genes in advanced lung cancer. In a study of 452 patients, Pfizer’s drug exhibited the ability to delay the progression of cancer for 14.7 months, compared to 9.2 months for AZ’s Ingressa – a 41% improvement.

However, these promising statistics also coincided with increased incidence of acne, diarrhoea, and liver enzyme abnormalities as a result of the drug’s suppression of EGFR genes in the skin and gastrointestinal tract, causing 60% of participants to have their dose lowered. However, despite this,

Lead Researcher Dr Tony Mok, from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, commented: “the activity seen in this study should allow for consideration of this effective therapy in this patient population.”

EGFR-positive NSCLC affects around 140,000 patients worldwide. Pfizer has announced that it now plans to speak with regulatory agencies to secure approval for the drug.

Matt Fellows

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