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Oncology NEWS InternationalOncology NEWS International Vol 18 No 9
Volume 18
Issue 9

The following company announcements were made at the 2009 World Conference on Lung Cancer in San Francisco.

The following company announcements were made at the 2009 World Conference on Lung Cancer in San Francisco.

• DxS has teamed with AstraZeneca to make its TheraScreen diagnostic test available in Europe for use with Iressa (gefitinib). The TheraScreen EGFR29 Mutation Kit can be used to test a patient’s eligibility for treatment with Iressa. Earlier in July, AstraZeneca received approval in the EU to market Iressa for the treatment of adults with locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer with activating mutations of EGFR-TK.

• ImmunoGen reported that in two ongoing clinical trials, its compound IMGN901 shrank small-cell lung cancer tumors and fought CD56-expressing solid tumors. Out of 68 patients treated to date, 15 sustained stable disease with an estimated time-to-progression ranging from 77 to 168 days.

• Boehringer Ingelheim announced the initiation of a phase III study of BIBW 2992 as first-line treatment in patients with EGFR mutations. Preliminary data from the phase II trial show a response in nearly two-thirds of patients (63%) and a disease control rate of 97% in 38 patients.

• Merck KGaA compared the efficacy and safety of three different dose regimens of cilengitide versus docetaxel (Taxotere). Cilengitide monotherapy at the highest dose of 600 mg/m2 showed overall survival of six months vs 6.4 months for docetaxel and one-year survival rate of 29% vs 27% for docetaxel.

• The GlaxoSmithKline MAGRIT trial (Melanoma Antigen-A3 as Adjuvant Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Immunotherapy) has screened more than 3,000 patients. MAGRIT is a phase III study investigating the efficacy of the drug in preventing cancer relapse. Preliminary data support previously reported MAGE-A3 tumor expression rates (about 35%), validating MAGE-A3 as a patient-selective tumor-specific target.

• Endocyte is currently conducting three separate phase II trials for EC145 and EC20, a molecular imaging agent, for the treatment of NSCLC.

 

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