LONDON (Alliance News) - GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Monday its Phase III Break-3 study of tafinlar, or dabrafenib, for the treatment of patients with BRAF V600E mutant metastatic melanoma showed a survival rate of 45% at two years.
The data was presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology 2014 Congress in Madrid. The results were part of a secondary endpoint from the study.
Some 45% of patients treated with tafinlar only were alive at two years compared to 32% of patients who began treatment with dacarbazine.
"We are encouraged by the 45% survival rate with dabrafenib at two years," said Paolo Paoletti, president of oncology. "Treatments for melanoma have come a long way in recent years, and we?re now seeing the benefits precision medicines can bring to the right patients."
Tafinlar is licensed as a monotherapy for patients with melanoma that cannot be removed via surgery, or melanoma that has spread with a BRAF V600 mutation in the European Union.
Shares in GlaxoSmithKline were trading down 1.0% at 1,418.07 pence Monday midday.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews
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