Roche's Perjeta Regimen In Breast Cancer An "Unprecedented Success"
Roche reported the final survival results from its Phase 3 study of Perjeta (pertuzumab), which showed that the drug extended the overall survival (OS) of women with previously untreated HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (mBC) by 15.7 months.
Perjeta is a specific inhibitor of the HER2 receptor. The drug prevents the HER2 receptor from partnering with other receptors, a process believed to be crucial in tumor growth and survival. Through its mechanism of action of binding to HER2, Perjeta may also trigger an immune response against cancer cells.
The international, double-blind, placebo controlled, randomized Phase 3 CLEOPATRA study compared the combination of pertuzumab, Herceptin (trastuzumab), and docetaxel chemotherapy with placebo, Herceptin, and chemotherapy. The combination of Perjeta and Herceptin is thought to be a complementary and more effective way to block HER signaling pathways. The Perjeta and Herceptin combo resulted in 56.5 months of OS compared to 40.8 months of the Herceptin and chemotherapy arm.
The New York Times reports that researchers have called the results as an “unprecedented success”. The length of survival is the longest duration of time brought about by a drug indicated as a first line treatment for metastatic breast cancer. It could also very well be one of the longest treatments for any cancer, says the report.
“Adding Perjeta to treatment with Herceptin and chemotherapy resulted in the longest survival observed to date in a clinical study of people with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. The median survival of nearly five years for people who received the Perjeta regimen is 15.7 months longer than for people who received Herceptin and chemotherapy alone, a magnitude of improvement we rarely see in clinical trials in advanced cancer,” said Sandra Horning, CMO and Head of Global Product Development at Roche.
The company revealed that Perjeta brought in about $408 million in sales for the first half of the year. Half of the profit comes from the U.S., where the drug was approved in 2012 and has been established as the standard of care.
This week, Roche also announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Klee Acquisition Corporation has purchased shares in tender offer for biotech firm InterMune. InterMune is focused on R&D and marketing of treatments in pulmonology and orphan fibrotic diseases.