On October 23, 2023 AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo reported that (trastuzumab deruxtecan) has been approved in the European Union (EU) as monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumours have an activating HER2 (ERBB2) mutation and who require systemic therapy following platinum-based chemotherapy with or without immunotherapy (Press release, AstraZeneca, OCT 23, 2023, View Source [SID1234636272]).
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Enhertu is a specifically engineered HER2-directed antibody drug conjugate (ADC) being jointly developed and commercialised by AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo.
The approval by the European Commission follows the positive opinion of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use and is based on results from the DESTINY-Lung02 Phase II trial presented at the IASLC 2023 World Conference on Lung Cancer and simultaneously published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
In the trial, Enhertu 5.4mg/kg demonstrated a confirmed objective response rate (ORR) of 49.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 39.0-59.1), as assessed by blinded independent central review (BICR), in patients with previously treated advanced or metastatic HER2-mutant (HER2m) NSCLC. One (1.0%) complete response (CR) and 49 (48.0%) partial responses (PR) were observed. The median duration of response (DoR) was 16.8 months (95% CI 6.4-not estimated [NE]).
Martin Reck, MD, PhD, Head of the Department of Thoracic Oncology, Lung Clinic Grosshansdorf, Germany, said: "HER2-mutant non-small cell lung cancer is more commonly diagnosed in patients who are younger and female, and there are limited treatment options which often results in a poor prognosis. Enhertu is the first HER2-directed therapy to demonstrate strong and durable results for these patients, and this EU approval marks an important step forward in how the disease can be treated."
Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President, Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca, said: "Understanding the molecular drivers behind a lung cancer diagnosis is critical, and while there are now targeted options for many patients, those with HER2-mutant non-small cell lung cancer have had few treatment options, none of which have been approved to treat their specific type of lung cancer. Enhertu is the first HER2-directed option approved for HER2-mutant disease and confirms the relevance of HER2 as a target in lung cancer."
Ken Keller, Global Head of Oncology Business, and President and CEO, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., said: "Since our initial approval of Enhertu for metastatic breast cancer in the EU more than two years ago, we have remained committed to bringing this innovative antibody drug conjugate to more patients with HER2-targetable tumours, especially those that have previously not been eligible for treatment with a HER2-directed therapy. With today’s news, Enhertu is the first antibody drug conjugate approved for lung cancer in the EU and is now approved in three different tumour types."
The safety profile of Enhertu in the DESTINY-Lung02 trial was consistent with previous clinical trials with no new safety signals identified.
Financial considerations
Following EU approval, an amount of $75m is due from AstraZeneca to Daiichi Sankyo as a milestone payment for this HER2-mutant (HER2m) NSCLC indication. The milestone payment will be capitalised as an addition to the upfront payment made by AstraZeneca to Daiichi Sankyo in 2019 and subsequent capitalised milestones.
Sales of Enhertu in most EU territories are recognised by Daiichi Sankyo. AstraZeneca reports its share of gross profit margin from Enhertu sales in those territories as alliance revenue in the Company’s financial statements. AstraZeneca will record product sales in respect of sales made in territories where AstraZeneca is the selling party.
Further details on the financial arrangements were set out in the March 2019 announcement of the collaboration.
Notes
HER2m NSCLC
Lung cancer is the second most common form of cancer globally with more than two million cases diagnosed in 2020.1 In Europe, lung cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer with more than 477,000 cases diagnosed in 2020.2 Lung cancer is also the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Europe, with nearly 400,000 deaths reported in 2020.2 Prognosis is particularly poor for patients with metastatic NSCLC as only approximately 9% will live beyond five years after diagnosis.3
HER2 is a tyrosine kinase receptor growth-promoting protein expressed on the surface of multiple tumour types. Certain HER2 (ERBB2) gene alterations (called HER2 mutations) have been identified in patients with non-squamous NSCLC as a distinct molecular target, and occur in approximately 2-4% of patients with this type of lung cancer.4,5 While HER2 gene mutations can occur in a range of patients, they are more commonly found in patients with NSCLC who are younger, female and have never smoked.6 HER2 gene mutations have been independently associated with cancer cell growth and poor prognosis, with an increased incidence of brain metastases.7 Next-generation sequencing has been utilised in the identification of HER2 (ERBB2) mutations.8,9
DESTINY-Lung02
DESTINY-Lung02 is a global, randomised Phase II trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of Enhertu in patients with HER2m advanced or metastatic NSCLC with disease recurrence or progression during or after at least one regimen of prior anticancer therapy that must have contained a platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients were randomised 2:1 to receive Enhertu 5.4mg/kg (n=102) or Enhertu 6.4mg/kg (n=50).
The primary endpoint of the trial is confirmed ORR as assessed by BICR. Secondary endpoints include DoR, confirmed disease control rate, and progression-free survival assessed by investigator and BICR, overall survival and safety.
DESTINY-Lung02 enrolled 152 patients at multiple sites, including Asia, Europe and North America. For more information about the trial, visit ClinicalTrials.gov.
Enhertu
Enhertu is a HER2-directed ADC. Designed using Daiichi Sankyo’s proprietary DXd ADC technology, Enhertu is the lead ADC in the oncology portfolio of Daiichi Sankyo and the most advanced programme in AstraZeneca’s ADC scientific platform. Enhertu consists of a HER2 monoclonal antibody attached to a number of topoisomerase I inhibitor payloads, (an exatecan derivative, DXd), via tetrapeptide-based cleavable linkers.
Enhertu (5.4mg/kg) is approved in more than 55 countries for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who have received a (or one or more) prior anti-HER2-based regimen either in the metastatic setting, or in the neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting and have developed disease recurrence during or within six months of completing therapy based on the results from the DESTINY-Breast03 trial.
Enhertu (5.4mg/kg) is approved in more than 40 countries worldwide for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-low (IHC 1+ or IHC 2+/ISH-) breast cancer who have received a prior systemic therapy in the metastatic setting or developed disease recurrence during or within six months of completing adjuvant chemotherapy based on the results from the DESTINY-Breast04 trial.
Enhertu (5.4mg/kg) is approved in more than 30 countries for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic NSCLC whose tumours have activating HER2 (ERBB2) mutations, as detected by a locally or regionally approved test, and who have received a prior systemic therapy based on the results from the DESTINY-Lung02 trial. Continued approval for this indication in the US may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in a confirmatory trial.
Enhertu (6.4mg/kg) is approved in more than 30 countries for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma who have received a prior trastuzumab-based regimen based on the results from the DESTINY-Gastric01 and/or DESTINY-Gastric02 trials.
Enhertu development programme
A comprehensive clinical development programme is underway globally, evaluating the efficacy and safety of Enhertu monotherapy across multiple HER2-targetable cancers. Trials in combination with other anticancer treatments, such as immunotherapy, are also underway.