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Torisel-Avastin combo fails in kidney cancer

pharmafile | August 13, 2012 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing R&D, Sutent, Torisel, avastin, failure, rcc 

Combining Pfizer’s Torisel and Roche’s Avastin does not increase survival rates for advanced kidney cancer patients.

This is according to a new Phase III trial investigating the two drugs as a first line treatment in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

The trial did not meet its primary endpoint of extending progression-free survival when compared to patients treated with Avastin and Roche’s hep C drug Pegasys (interferon alpha 2-a), meaning it failed to reach its clinical target.

Avastin is licensed to treat metastatic RCC in the US in combination with interferon alpha.

Interferon treatments like Pegasys have been known to show some anti-tumour effect and help bespoke oncology drugs increase their efficacy, which is why the FDA approved Roche’s drug alongside its interferon alpha treatment in 2009.

Avastin had sales of over $6 billion last year, although the drug also has licences to treat several other cancers, including certain cancers of the lung and brain.

Pfizer was hoping to increase its drug’s use by combining it with Avastin, but this now looks to be a forlorn hope. This rounds off a dismal year for the drug, after it also failed to beat Bayer’s RCC drug Nexavar in a head-to-head study

Torisel, which Pfizer gained from its takeover with Wyeth, was licensed in 2007 by the FDA to treat advanced RCC. Pfizer did not release 2011 sales figures for the drug, but figures from 2010 show it made $370 million.  

Pfizer also develops Sutent for RCC, sales of which Pfizer will not be covering up, as it reached $1.19 billion for 2011, overtaking the $1 billion worth of sales coming from Nexavar, its nearest rival. 

Pfizer also gained approval for its third RCC drug Inlyta earlier this year along with blockbuster projections, meaning that despite Torisel’s failures, it still has a strong RCC portfolio.

But all of these drugs are now competing with GlaxoSmithKline’s Votrient, which will usurp Sutent as the RCC market leader by 2016, according to analysts at Decision Resources.

Study helps increase RCC treatment knowledge

“This trial advances our knowledge about the role and limitations of combining targeted therapies in the treatment of advanced RCC,” said Dr Mace Rothenberg, senior VP of clinical development and medical affairs for Pfizer’s oncology business unit.

“Additional analyses will be performed to help us understand this result. The study outcome, involving combination therapy, does not change the safety and efficacy relationship of single-agent Torisel for advanced RCC patients with a poor prognostic risk profile, he added.

Pfizer said that additional efficacy endpoints and safety data for the combination treatments would be presented at an upcoming major medical congress. 

Ben Adams 

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