(Alliance News) - AstraZeneca PLC and Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd on Monday reported positive results from trials of two cancer drugs, Enhertu and datopotamab deruxtecan.
AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo are global pharmaceutical firms, based in Cambridge, England and Tokyo, respectively.
Enhertu is a specifically engineered human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-directed antibody drug conjugate being jointly developed and commercialised by the two companies.
Datopotamab deruxtecan is an antibody-drug conjugate consisting of an antibody that targets tumours and a lethal payload that kills cancer cells.
In Enhertu's ongoing Destiny-PamTumor02 Phase 11 trial, patients with HER2-expressing advanced solid tumours including either biliary tract, bladder, cervical, endometrial, ovarian and pancreatic cancers or other tumours treated with the drug showed a confirmed objective response rate of 37.1%.
Enhertu is the first therapy to show broad activity across HER2-expressing advanced solid tumours where there are currently no approved HER2-directed therapies, the companies said.
Further, the two companies said datopotamab combinations showed encouraging tumour responses in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer in Tropion-Lung02 Phase Ib trial data.
Datopotamab plus pembrolizumab with or without platinum chemotherapy demonstrated objective response rates of 57% and 50%, respectively, with a disease control rate of 91%.
There are three ongoing pivotal trials evaluating datopotamab deruxtecan and immune checkpoint inhibitor combinations in 1st-line non-small cell lung cancer.
Earlier Monday, AstraZeneca said its Andexxa phase four trial will be stopped early after achieving positive efficacy data.
The company came to the decision after the study, which followed 450 patients on Xa inhibitors, showed Andexxa's reversal benefits on potential life-threatening bleeds in the brain earlier than originally anticipated.
Shares in AstraZeneca closed up 0.3% st 11,782 pence in London on Monday, while shares in Daiichi Sankyo closed 2.1% higher at JPY4,809 in Tokyo.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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