AstraZeneca Truqap, Faslodex combo approved in EU for advanced ER-positive breast cancer

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 CAPItello-291 Phase III trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

In the trial, Truqap in combination with Faslodex reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 50% versus Faslodex in combination with placebo in patients with tumours harbouring PI3K, AKT or PTEN alterations (based on hazard ratio of 0.50, 95% confidence interval 0.38-0.65; p=<0.001; median progression-free survival (PFS) 7.3 versus 3.1 months).

In Europe, breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death, with more than 140,000 deaths in 2022 and more than 550,000 patients diagnosed in the same year. Hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer (expressing estrogen or progesterone receptors, or both), is the most common subtype of breast cancer with 70% of tumours considered HR-positive and HER2-negative. More than 97% of HR-positive breast cancer tumours are ER-positive. Collectively, mutations in PIK3CA, AKT1 and alterations in PTEN occur frequently, affecting approximately 50% of patients with advanced HR-positive breast cancer.

Mafalda Oliveira, MD, PhD, Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, and Senior Clinical Investigator of the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology’s Breast Cancer Group in Barcelona, Spain, said, “Patients with advanced ER-positive breast cancer typically experience tumour progression or resistance with widely used endocrine-based treatment regimens, and there is an urgent need to provide them more time with their disease under control. The approval is welcome news for approximately half of ER-positive breast cancer patients in Europe who have tumours with these biomarkers, and it is important for clinicians to test and identify eligible patients who may be able to benefit from this combination.”

Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President, Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca, said, “Truqap is now the first and only AKT inhibitor approved in the European Union for patients with ER-positive breast cancer who have tumours harbouring these specific biomarkers. Breast cancer continues to be the leading cause of cancer-related death in Europe, and this news represents a significant step forward in providing an important new treatment option for patients in need of new, innovative therapies.”

In the CAPItello-291 trial, the safety profile of Truqap plus Faslodex was similar to that observed in previous trials evaluating this combination.

Regulatory applications are currently under review in China and several other countries. Similar indications for Truqap in combination with Faslodex are already approved in the US, Japan and several other countries based on the CAPItello-291 trial.

Following this approval in the EU, Astex Therapeutics is eligible to receive a milestone payment from AstraZeneca on first commercial sale of the drug in the EU as well as royalties on future sales in line with the agreement between the two companies.

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