Boehringer Ingelheim’s Giotrif significantly lowers lung cancer progression in Phase II trials
pharmafile | April 13, 2016 | News story | Research and Development | AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Iressa, giotrif, lung cancer
German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim on Wednesday said a mid-stage study has shown its cancer drug Giotrif (afatinib) reduced the risk of lung cancer progression by 27% versus AstraZeneca’s (LSE: AZN) Iressa (Gefitinib).
In addition, the improvement in Progression Free Survival (PFS) became more pronounced over time, according to the study results published in The Lancet Oncology. After two years of treatment, more than twice as many patients on afatinib were alive and progression free than those on gefitinib.
Lead investigator and lead author Professor Keunchil Park, said: “The key finding from this study suggests a significant difference in efficacy between afatinib and gefitinib across multiple endpoints and pre-defined patient subgroups.”
The most common adverse events in treatment with Giotrif were diarrhoea and rash/ acne.
Klaus Dugi, managing director, Boehringer Ingelheim UK & Ireland said: “We are delighted with the Lancet Oncology publication of LUX-Lung 7, the second direct head-to-head trial of afatinib versus a first-generation EGFR TKI. The totality of the efficacy data from LUX-Lung 7 clearly differentiates the second-generation inhibitor afatinib from the first-generation inhibitor gefitinib with no significant differences observed in overall safety, tolerability and health-related quality of life between the two TKIs. This is really good news for patients, and it will provide clinicians with further evidence to guide treatment practice in EGFR mutated NSCLC.”
Anjali Shukla
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