AstraZeneca-Daiichi Sankyo Enhertu approved in EU for lung cancer

Enhertu is a specifically engineered HER2-directed antibody drug conjugate (ADC) being jointly developed and commercialised by AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo.

The approval by the European Commission follows the positive opinion of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use and is based on results from the DESTINY-Lung02 Phase II trial presented at the IASLC 2023 World Conference on Lung Cancer and simultaneously published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

In the trial, Enhertu 5.4mg/kg demonstrated a confirmed objective response rate (ORR) of 49.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 39.0-59.1), as assessed by blinded independent central review (BICR), in patients with previously treated advanced or metastatic HER2-mutant (HER2m) NSCLC. One (1.0%) complete response (CR) and 49 (48.0%) partial responses (PR) were observed. The median duration of response (DoR) was 16.8 months (95% CI 6.4-not estimated [NE]).

Martin Reck, MD, PhD, Head of the Department of Thoracic Oncology, Lung Clinic Grosshansdorf, Germany, said, “HER2-mutant non-small cell lung cancer is more commonly diagnosed in patients who are younger and female, and there are limited treatment options which often results in a poor prognosis. Enhertu is the first HER2-directed therapy to demonstrate strong and durable results for these patients, and this EU approval marks an important step forward in how the disease can be treated.”

Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President, Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca, said, “Understanding the molecular drivers behind a lung cancer diagnosis is critical, and while there are now targeted options for many patients, those with HER2-mutant non-small cell lung cancer have had few treatment options, none of which have been approved to treat their specific type of lung cancer. Enhertu is the first HER2-directed option approved for HER2-mutant disease and confirms the relevance of HER2 as a target in lung cancer.”

Ken Keller, Global Head of Oncology Business, and President and CEO, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., said, “Since our initial approval of Enhertu for metastatic breast cancer in the EU more than two years ago, we have remained committed to bringing this innovative antibody drug conjugate to more patients with HER2-targetable tumours, especially those that have previously not been eligible for treatment with a HER2-directed therapy. With this news, Enhertu is the first antibody drug conjugate approved for lung cancer in the EU and is now approved in three different tumour types.”

The safety profile of Enhertu in the DESTINY-Lung02 trial was consistent with previous clinical trials with no new safety signals identified.

Following EU approval, an amount of $75m is due from AstraZeneca to Daiichi Sankyo as a milestone payment for this HER2-mutant (HER2m) NSCLC indication. The milestone payment will be capitalised as an addition to the upfront payment made by AstraZeneca to Daiichi Sankyo in 2019 and subsequent capitalised milestones.

Sales of Enhertu in most EU territories are recognised by Daiichi Sankyo. AstraZeneca reports its share of gross profit margin from Enhertu sales in those territories as alliance revenue in the Company’s financial statements. AstraZeneca will record product sales in respect of sales made in territories where AstraZeneca is the selling party.

Further details on the financial arrangements were set out in the March 2019 announcement of the collaboration.

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