On June 4, 2018 Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) reported overall survival (OS) data from the ARCHER 1050 trial evaluating dacomitinib as a first-line treatment for patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR-activating mutations compared to gefitinib (Press release, Pfizer, JUN 4, 2018, View Source [SID1234527151]). The trial showed a median OS of 34.1 months for patients receiving dacomitinib (95% CI: 29.5, 37.7), representing a more than seven-month improvement compared to 26.8 months with gefitinib (95% CI: 23.7, 32.1). The OS data from ARCHER 1050 were presented today as an oral presentation [Abstract #9004] at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) in Chicago and have been published simultaneously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

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"Overall survival is an important measure to assess efficacy of investigational compounds. These data presented today are particularly significant as dacomitinib is the first EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor in a Phase 3 head-to-head study comparing two tyrosine kinase inhibitors to show an improvement in overall survival," said Professor Tony Mok, Chair of Department of Clinical Oncology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. "I look forward to having dacomitinib as a potential first-line treatment option for non-small cell lung cancer patients with EGFR-activating mutations."

Overall survival was a secondary endpoint of ARCHER 1050, a randomized, open label Phase 3 study comparing the efficacy and safety of dacomitinib to gefitinib for the first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC in subjects with EGFR-activating mutations. At the OS data cutoff, median OS was 34.1 months with dacomitinib (95% CI: 29.5, 37.7) compared to 26.8 months with gefitinib (95% CI: 23.7, 32.1). Patients receiving dacomitinib had a 56.2 percent survival rate at 30 months compared with 46.3 percent for patients who received gefitinib. Subgroup analyses were consistent with the primary OS analysis across most baseline characteristics, including patients with common sub-mutations exon 19 and 21.

The adverse events (AEs) observed with dacomitinib in the study were consistent with findings from previous dacomitinib trials. The most common AEs were diarrhea (87%), nail changes (62%), rash/dermatitis acneiform (49%) and mouth sores (44%). The most common Grade 3 AEs with dacomitinib were rash (14%) and diarrhea (8%). Grade 4 AEs occurred in two percent of dacomitinib-treated patients. There was one case of Grade 5 diarrhea and one case of Grade 5 liver disease. The discontinuation rate due to treatment-related AEs for dacomitinib was 10 percent compared to seven percent for gefitinib.

"What is most encouraging about these results is that patients with non-small cell lung cancer harboring EGFR-activating mutations who received dacomitinib achieved a median overall survival of nearly three years, a marked improvement compared to an established treatment in this setting," said Mace Rothenberg, MD, chief development officer, Oncology, Pfizer Global Product Development. "With today’s podium presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) annual meeting and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Priority Review granted earlier this year, we are encouraged by these data and committed to deliver this promising investigational medicine to patients as quickly as possible."

In April 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted priority review for dacomitinib for the first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC with EGFR-activating mutations. The FDA Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date is in September 2018. The European Medicines Agency also accepted the Marketing Authorization Application for dacomitinib for the same indication.

About Dacomitinib

Dacomitinib is an investigational, oral, once-daily, irreversible pan-human epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). It has not received regulatory approval in any country.

In 2012, Pfizer and SFJ Pharmaceuticals entered into a collaborative development agreement to conduct ARCHER 1050 across multiple sites.

About Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.1 Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for about 85 percent of lung cancer cases and remains difficult to treat, particularly in the metastatic setting.2 Biomarker therapies dramatically changed the care of patients with metastatic NSCLC. Approximately 75 percent of NSCLC patients are diagnosed late with metastatic or advanced disease where the five-year survival rate is only five percent.2,3,4

EGFR is a protein that helps cells grow and divide. When the EGFR protein is mutated it can cause cancer cells to form. EGFR mutations occur in 10 to 35 percent of NSCLC tumors globally, yet the disease is associated with low survival rates and disease progression remains a challenge.5,6