Perjeta reduces risk of death
pharmafile | December 11, 2012 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Cancer, Perjeta, Roche
Roche’s cancer drug Perjeta helps reduce the risk of death by 34% in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (mBC), compared to Herceptin and chemotherapy.
New data from the Phase III CLEOPATRA study showed Perjeta (pertuzumab) plus Roche’s own Herceptin (trastuzumab) and docetaxel chemotherapy extended overall survival (OS) compared to Herceptin, chemotherapy and placebo.
Median OS had not been reached at the time of analysis, because more than half of those in the Perjeta arm were still alive – median OS for those on Herceptin and chemotherapy was 37.6 months.
People receiving Herceptin and chemotherapy in CLEOPATRA have been given the option to receive Perjeta, based on these findings.
The Perjeta combination also showed a statistically significant 38% reduction in the risk of patients’ disease worsening or death compared to the placebo arm.
Median progression-free survival improved by 6.1 months from 12.4 months for people who received Herceptin and chemotherapy to 18.5 months for those on Perjeta, Herceptin and chemotherapy.
It is particularly good news for Roche, since Herceptin is one of its biggest-selling drugs but will start to lose patent protection soon. Perjeta is expected to make $1.8 billion in peak annual sales.
“This treatment combination with Perjeta is the first to have significantly extended survival compared to Herceptin and chemotherapy in people with previously untreated HER2-positive mBC,” said Hal Barron, Roche’s chief medical officer.
Perjeta and Herceptin target different places on the HER2 receptor, a protein found in high quantities on the outside of cancer cells in HER2-positive cancers. Roche suggests the Phase III results indicate their action could be complementary in treating patients with this aggressive form of cancer.
The FDA approved Perjeta in this combination for previously untreated patients with HER2-positive mBC in June and Roche has made an application to European regulators in this indication.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, with 1.4 million new cases diagnosed worldwide each year and 450,000 deaths annually.
Perjeta is designed to prevent the HER2 receptor from pairing with other HER receptors (EGFR/HER1, HER3 and HER4) on the surface of cells.
Binding of Perjeta to HER2 may signal the body’s immune system to destroy the cancer cells, Roche says.
Adam Hill
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