Merck, Daiichi Sankyo Ifinatamab deruxtecan granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by USFDA for pretreated extensive-stage small cell lung cancer

The FDA BTD is designed to accelerate the development and regulatory review of potential new medicines that are intended to treat a serious condition and address a significant unmet medical need. The medicine is required to have shown encouraging preliminary clinical results that demonstrate substantial improvement on a clinically significant endpoint over currently available medicines.

The FDA granted the BTD based on data from the IDeate-Lung01 Phase 2 trial, with support from the IDeate-PanTumor01 Phase 1/2 trial. Results from the primary analysis of IDeate-Lung01 will be presented in a late-breaking oral presentation at the IASLC 2025 World Conference on Lung Cancer hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (#WCLC25). 

“This Breakthrough Therapy Designation granted by the FDA to ifinatamab deruxtecan highlights the urgent need for new treatment options for patients with pretreated extensive-stage small cell lung cancer,” said Ken Takeshita, MD, global head, R&D, Daiichi Sankyo. “We are committed to advancing this medicine with the goal of bringing the first B7-H3 directed antibody drug conjugate to patients in order to transform the outcomes of those facing this aggressive disease.”

“Patients living with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer often have limited therapeutic options following disease progression after standard of care treatments,” said Eliav Barr, MD, senior vice president, head of global clinical development and chief medical officer, Merck Research Laboratories. “This Breakthrough Therapy Designation reinforces our confidence in the promise of ifinatamab deruxtecan to play an important role in the treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, and we are looking forward to sharing data at the upcoming IASLC 2025 World Conference on Lung Cancer that show the potential of this novel option.”