On October 19, 2025 Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (NASDAQ: CORT), a commercial-stage company engaged in the discovery and development of medications to treat severe endocrinologic, oncologic, metabolic and neurologic disorders by modulating the effects of the hormone cortisol, reported new late-breaking data from its pivotal Phase 3 ROSELLA trial of relacorilant plus nab-paclitaxel in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) (Free ESMO Whitepaper) 2025 Annual Meeting. The data demonstrated a progression-free survival (PFS) benefit for patients who experienced disease progression while on or after taking a PARP inhibitor (PARPi), a patient population with particularly poor prognosis. The presentation slides can be found here. The company also announced expansion of the Phase 2 BELLA trial in a poster session at ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper), found here.
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
New relacorilant data presented at ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) demonstrated a consistent benefit in PARPi subgroups to overcome chemotherapy resistance. Relacorilant plus nab-paclitaxel showed a PFS benefit in patients with prior PARPi treatment (hazard ratio: 0.60; p-value: 0.0035) and in patients whose disease progressed while on a PARPi (hazard ratio: 0.56; p-value: 0.0046), with a median PFS of 7.36 months for both subgroups. Relacorilant plus nab-paclitaxel was well-tolerated in the PARPi subgroups, consistent with its known safety profile. Importantly, the type, frequency and severity of adverse events in the combination arms were comparable to those in the nab-paclitaxel monotherapy arms. Relacorilant conferred its benefit without increasing the safety burden of the patients who received it.
"These new ROSELLA data substantiate the significant benefit of relacorilant plus nab-paclitaxel in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, an extremely difficult-to-treat cancer," said Domenica Lorusso, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Gynaecological Oncology Unit at Humanitas Hospital San Pio X, Milan, and Full Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Humanitas University, Rozzano, European Network of Gynaecological Oncological Trial groups Principal Investigator in the ROSELLA trial and ESMO (Free ESMO Whitepaper) presenter. "These findings are especially promising for patients with an exceptionally poor prognosis and necessitate further research of relacorilant and its potential benefit in earlier treatment lines of gynecological cancers."
Corcept also announced the expansion of the recently initiated Phase 2 BELLA trial to three study arms to evaluate the efficacy and safety of: (i) relacorilant plus nab-paclitaxel and bevacizumab to treat patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer; (ii) relacorilant plus nab-paclitaxel and bevacizumab to treat patients with platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer whose disease progressed while on a PARPi and (iii) relacorilant plus nab-paclitaxel to treat patients with endometrial cancer who had received one or two prior lines of therapy. Initial results are expected in late 2026.
"The ROSELLA data give us confidence to expand the BELLA trial to include patients with ovarian cancer whose disease is platinum sensitive (an earlier stage of tumor progression), as well as patients with endometrial cancer," said Bill Guyer, PharmD, Corcept’s Chief Development Officer. "With the FDA’s recent acceptance of our New Drug Application for relacorilant in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and the expansion of our BELLA trial, we are closer than ever to bringing new and vital treatment to patients in need. We are grateful to all the patients and investigators for participating in our ongoing trials."
Corcept previously announced that ROSELLA met its primary endpoint of improved PFS, with no need for biomarker selection. Patients who received relacorilant in addition to nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy experienced a 30 percent reduction in the risk of disease progression compared to patients who received nab-paclitaxel monotherapy (hazard ratio: 0.70; p-value: 0.0076). An interim analysis of overall survival (OS) showed that the addition of relacorilant reduced the risk of death by 31 percent, substantially lengthening patients’ lives (hazard ratio: 0.69; p-value: 0.0121).
The ROSELLA trial is being conducted in collaboration with The GOG Foundation, Inc. (GOG-F), the European Network of Gynaecological Oncological Trial groups (ENGOT), the Asia-Pacific Gynecologic Oncology Trials Group (APGOT), the Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group (LACOG) and the Australia New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group (ANZGOG).
About Relacorilant
Relacorilant, an oral therapy, is a selective glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonist that modulates cortisol activity by binding to the GR but not to the body’s other hormone receptors. Corcept is developing relacorilant in ovarian cancer and a variety of other serious disorders, including endogenous hypercortisolism and prostate cancer. Relacorilant is proprietary to Corcept and is protected by composition of matter, method of use and other patents. It has been designated an orphan drug by the FDA and the European Commission (EC) for the treatment of hypercortisolism and by the EC for the treatment of ovarian cancer. The FDA has assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date of December 30, 2025 for relacorilant as a treatment for patients with hypercortisolism, and a PDUFA date of July 11, 2026 for relacorilant as a treatment for patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Corcept also recently submitted a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for relacorilant to treat patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.
About Cortisol’s Role in Oncology
Cortisol plays a role in tumor growth through several mechanisms. It helps solid tumors resist chemotherapy by inhibiting cellular apoptosis — the tumor-killing effect chemotherapy is meant to stimulate. In some cancers, cortisol promotes tumor growth by activating oncogenes in the cells to which it binds. Cortisol also suppresses the body’s immune response, which weakens its ability to fight all diseases, including cancer.
About Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death in women. Patients whose disease returns six months after receiving platinum-containing therapy have "platinum-sensitive" disease and those with disease progression of less than six months have "platinum-resistant" disease. There are few treatment options for these women. Approximately 20,000 women with platinum-resistant disease and 13,000 women with platinum-sensitive disease are candidates to start a new therapy each year in the United States, with at least an equal number in Europe.
(Press release, Corcept Therapeutics, OCT 19, 2025, https://ir.corcept.com/news-releases/news-release-details/corcept-presents-esmo-2025-late-breaker-relacorilant [SID1234656765])