Pfizer lung cancer drug suffers late-stage setback
pharmafile | January 28, 2014 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Cancer, NSCLC, Pfizer, Roche, Tarceva, dacomitinib
An experimental cancer drug developed by Pfizer has failed in two separate Phase III clinical studies.
Dacomitinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor designed to target several HER receptors in order to stifle tumour growth, and was being tested among participants with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had undergone previous treatment.
In one trial, dacomitinib did not lead to a significant increase in progression-free survival (PFS), compared to treatment with Tarceva (erlotinib, Roche/Genentech). In the second, Pfizer’s drug failed to improve overall survival versus placebo.
The results represent a sizable blow for Pfizer, which had flagged the orally-administered dacomitinib as a rising star within its pipeline. Analysts had forecast sales of up to $500 million by 2020, according to Reuters.
But all is not yet lost for the treatment: a third Phase III trial is ongoing, analysing the effect of dacomitinib on PFS, versus Iressa (gefitinib, AstraZeneca/Teva) among patients who have not undergone previous treatment. Results from this study are expected to be announced next year.
If Pfizer’s new drug is to succeed, however, it will have to overcome a number of other established options across several different treatment classes – including epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors, such as Tarceva and Iressa, and drugs which target vascular endothelial growth factor, such as Roche’s blockbuster Avastin (bevacizumab).
The New York-headquartered firm had hoped that its compound’s ability to target numerous HER receptors would give it an edge over rival treatments, which inhibit only one.
Pfizer Oncology’s chief medical officer Mace Rothenberg, said: “While we are disappointed in the results, lung cancer is a complex disease, and the use of targeted agents to treat specific patient populations continues to evolve.”
Lung cancer is the most deadly form of the disease and accounted for 1.37 million deaths in 2008, according to figures from the World Health Organization.
Pfizer said NSCLC accounts for about 85% of lung cancer cases, and three-quarters of diagnoses are made at a late stage when the five-year survival rate stands at just 5 per cent.
Hugh McCafferty
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