AstraZeneca Pharma India gets marketing nod for cancer drug Tagrisso

According to the Global Cancer Survey (GLOBOCAN), in 2018, the total number of new Lung cancer cases were 67,795 & 63,475 deaths were reported, making lung cancer a very aggressive and devastating cancer. It has also been estimated that by 2020, India would have around ~ 89,000 new Lung Cancer cases.

The main reason for this increase in death rates with Lung Cancer is due to the fact that close to 80%-90% of Lung Cancer cases are detected and diagnosed in the late stage, where the 5 years survival rate is less than 5%.

To increase the survival rates in Lung cancer, it is very important to diagnose and treat lung cancer in early stages before the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. However, even by providing the best treatment in early stages like surgery and post-surgery chemotherapy in eligible patients, more than half of the patients have a disease/cancer recurrence within 5 years. This is mainly attributed to the fact that cancer tends to recur again & there have been very few advances in treatment of Early Stage Lung Cancer. This represents a unmet need in management of patients in an effort to increase their survival rates

Mr.Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Managing Director, Astrazeneca India, said "AstraZeneca has always been and will continue to bring forward world-class treatment solutions for non-communicable diseases. The regulatory approval of ADAURA (Osimertinib) in India will provide better medicine for the management of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and help patients attain a better quality of life."

Osimertinib, a once daily oral pill, when given in patients of lung cancer , whose tumor have specific mutation called EGFR mutation and who have undergone surgical removal of the lung tumor, has shown to decrease the risk of cancer recurrence by nearly 83% in the ADAURA clinical trial in early stage lung cancer. Osimertinib is the first targeted oral treatment option to show such a significant benefit in terms of cancer free survival in early lung cancers with EGFRm positivity. Cancer spread to the brain and other organs is one of the important cause of recurrence in early stage lung cancer. Osimertinib has shown to decrease the chances of cancer spreading to the brain & other distant organs.

Dr. Anil Kukreja, Vice President – Medical Affairs & Regulatory, AstraZeneca India said "AstraZeneca has always been on the forefront of innovative solution for non-communicable diseases. Despite currently available therapies, a significant unmet need exists for effective management of EGFRm early stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) in India. The approval of Osimertinib as an adjuvant treatment for EGFRm NSCLC in India, will provide the much needed treatment choice for patients in early lung cancers with EGFRm positivity. The approval will provide Oncologists with potential therapeutic option to be given with curative intent to eligible select early lung cancer patients.."