AZ/Daiichi Sankyo's partnership makes progress in lung cancer

AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo have announced data from two drugs in lung cancer, which they are developing as part of their ongoing partnership.

Results announced at the World Conference on Lung Cancer came from Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan), which targets cancers overexpressing the HER2 receptor and is already approved in certain lbreast and gastric cancers with this biomarker.

There were also promising results from datopotamab deruxtecan, an antibody-drug conjugate that targets the biomarker TROP2.

An interim analysis of the HER2 overexpressing cohort of the DESTINY-Lung01 phase 2 trial showed preliminary evidence of antitumor activity for Enhertu, a HER2 directed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), in patients with metastatic NSCLC.

The response rate from the cohort of patients with HER-2 overexpressing non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from the phase 2 DESTINY-Lung01 trial was 24.5% (12 patients) with one complete response and 11 partial responses.

After a median follow-up of 6.1 months the estimated median duration of response (DoR) was six months and the median overall survival (OS) was 11.3 months.

The overall safety and tolerability profile of Enhertu was consistent with what has been previously observed in other trials.

While the response rate is not stellar there are no HER2-targeting drugs approved in NSCLC and the patient cohort was heavily pretreated.

Responses lasted for a median six months with patients living a median 11.3 months.

In the phase 1/2 trial for dapotamab deruxtecan an objective response rate (ORR) ranging from 21% to 25%, as assessed by independent central review, was observed in 159 patients with advanced or metastatic NSCLC receiving different doses of the drug.

At data cut-off on 4 September last year 32 confirmed complete or partial responses were seen, and an additional five complete or partial responses are still too early to confirm.

Efficacy data were preliminary due to immaturity of follow-up across dose groups, but preliminary efficacy results may support durability of clinical activity.

A disease control rate (DCR) ranging from 67 to 80% was observed with a median progression-free survival (PFS) ranging from 4.3 to 8.2 months across the three doses of datopotamab deruxtecan.

A phase 3 trial will test datopotamab deruxtecan versus chemotherapy, the current standard of care for patients with advanced disease that has progressed following treatment with platinum chemotherapy and immunotherapy.