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AZ targets PARP domination
Posted 9 July 2018
AstraZeneca's domination of the PARP inhibitor space looks set to continue after the company confirmed it would expand Lynparza to a first-line ovarian cancer setting.
A company spokesperson told Pharma in Focus it had local plans for the drug as a first-line maintenance treatment of patients with BRCA-mutated advanced ovarian cancer.
"We will be working with all stakeholders to obtain the earliest possible access for patients in Australia [for the indication]," the spokesperson said.
The news comes after the company posted positive results from a trial showing Lynparza "significantly" improved progression-free survival as a maintenance treatment compared to placebo.
Lynparza is the first PARP inhibitor to demonstrate efficacy in the setting, putting it even further ahead of rivals from Tesaro and Clovis. While Lynparza was PBS listed in third-line ovarian cancer last year, neither Tesaro's Zejula nor Clovis' Rubraca are available in Australia, with both drugs still lagging in the planning stages of filing.
"For the first time, we see a significant and clinically-impactful improvement in progression-free survival in the first-line maintenance setting for women with BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer treated with a PARP inhibitor.," AZ Chief Medical Officer Sean Bohen said of the new results.
AZ has been pushing to bring its cancer therapies into earlier settings as part of a strategy to target patients before tumours have progressed. Overseas, the company's immunotherapy Imfinzi has become standard of care in early unresectable stage III lung cancer, with AZ also trialling it in an adjuvant setting.
Lynparza was also the only PARP inhibitor to be approved for use in breast cancer, an indication the company had earlier confirmed it would chase locally.
Additionally AZ is testing Lynparza in combination with Roche's Avastin as a first-line combination treatment for women with advanced ovarian cancer regardless of BRCA status.
Yajun Ma
Posted 9 July 2018
AstraZeneca's domination of the PARP inhibitor space looks set to continue after the company confirmed it would expand Lynparza to a first-line ovarian cancer setting.
A company spokesperson told Pharma in Focus it had local plans for the drug as a first-line maintenance treatment of patients with BRCA-mutated advanced ovarian cancer.
"We will be working with all stakeholders to obtain the earliest possible access for patients in Australia [for the indication]," the spokesperson said.
The news comes after the company posted positive results from a trial showing Lynparza "significantly" improved progression-free survival as a maintenance treatment compared to placebo.
Lynparza is the first PARP inhibitor to demonstrate efficacy in the setting, putting it even further ahead of rivals from Tesaro and Clovis. While Lynparza was PBS listed in third-line ovarian cancer last year, neither Tesaro's Zejula nor Clovis' Rubraca are available in Australia, with both drugs still lagging in the planning stages of filing.
"For the first time, we see a significant and clinically-impactful improvement in progression-free survival in the first-line maintenance setting for women with BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer treated with a PARP inhibitor.," AZ Chief Medical Officer Sean Bohen said of the new results.
AZ has been pushing to bring its cancer therapies into earlier settings as part of a strategy to target patients before tumours have progressed. Overseas, the company's immunotherapy Imfinzi has become standard of care in early unresectable stage III lung cancer, with AZ also trialling it in an adjuvant setting.
Lynparza was also the only PARP inhibitor to be approved for use in breast cancer, an indication the company had earlier confirmed it would chase locally.
Additionally AZ is testing Lynparza in combination with Roche's Avastin as a first-line combination treatment for women with advanced ovarian cancer regardless of BRCA status.
Yajun Ma
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