AZN AstraZeneca PLC

By Carlo Martuscelli

Interim results from a phase 1 clinical trial, titled Patton, show that Savolitinib combined with an already-approved medicine, Tagrisso, yielded positive results.

Savolitinib is an investigational therapy under development by AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.LN) in partnership with Hutchison China MediTech Ltd. (HCM.LN).

Data presented at the 2019 annual American Association for Cancer Research meeting showed that lung cancer patients are responding to the combined treatment.

The study looked at the effect of Savolitinib and Tagrisso in patients with non-small cell lung cancer with a mutation in the EGFR gene.

The objective response rate of the drug combination--a measure of how many patients see a reduction in tumor size--ranged from between 28% and 52%, based on what therapies they had previously undergone.

Dr. Lecia Sequist, who presented the results, said the findings show the benefit of adding a MET inhibitor--the class of drug to which Savolitinib belongs--to already established therapies like Tagrisso in patients whose cancer has acquired drug resistance.

However, she cautioned that this is still early-stage data and the findings need to be confirmed in larger trials.

Write to Carlo Martuscelli at carlo.martuscelli@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 31, 2019 11:15 ET (15:15 GMT)

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