Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President of the Oncology Business Unit at Astrazeneca.
Oncology is one of the main pillars of pharmaceutical activity Astrazeneca. Proof of this are the numerous approved and investigational drugs that the company has and that it has recently presented at the Annual Congress of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO 2021).
In an interview with Medical Writing, Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President of the Oncology Business Unit at Astrazeneca, explains that thanks to therapeutic advances there are “real reasons for hope” of being able to cure cancer in all its forms in the future.
What are the main results presented by Astrazeneca at ESMO in the field of Oncology?
Our goal is to provide the Cancer Cure in all its forms and for this we must go beyond what we thought possible and break the expectations established by current standards of care. And what we saw at ESMO this past weekend is that Enhertu does just that in women with breast cancer metastatic HER2-positive. The results they are amazing.
Enhertu reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 72 percent versus trastuzumab emtansina (T-DM1) in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Enhertu also demonstrated a robust and durable 54.9 percent tumor response in patients with mutated metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. HER2.
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“To cure cancer we must go beyond what we thought possible” |
In addition, Enhertu demonstrated a clinically significant and long-lasting response in patients with HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer in the trial of fase II DESTINY-Gastric02. It is very exciting to see the potential for this drug to impact patients with all types of HER2 tumors. This is really positive news for patients.
One of the data presented at ESMO is the combination of durvalumab with two new immunotherapies. What is its potential?
Results presented at ESMO demonstrated that new immunotherapies in combination with Imfinzi (durvalumab) improved progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR) compared to durvalumab alone in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ) unresectable in stage III that had not progressed after chemoradiotherapy (CRT) competitor.
This is important because durvalumab after chemoradiotherapy is the global standard treatment for patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC, according to the phase III PACIFIC trial, and has transformed treatment in this environment. Encouragingly, after a median follow-up of 11.5 months, the results of an interim analysis showed that durvalumab in combination with oleclumab reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 56 percent, and in combination with monalizumab in 35 percent, compared to durvalumab alone in NSCLC patients stage III after CRT.
Additionally, the 10-month PFS rate was 64.8 percent for the durvalumab plus oleclumab combination and 72.7 percent for durvalumab plus monalizumab, versus 39.2 percent for durvalumab alone. The results also showed an increase in the primary endpoint of ORR (proportion of patients with a reduction in tumor size over a period of time) confirmed for durvalumab más oleclumab versus durvalumab solo (30 percent vs. 18 percent) and for durvalumab plus monalizumab vs. durvalumab alone (36 percent vs. 18 percent).
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“We are hopeful to see more drug approvals in the near future.” |
It should also be noted that safety was similar in all treatment arms, with no new safety signals being identified for any of the drug combinations. These exciting data show the promise of expanding the benefit of durvalumab through novel combinations with two potential first-class monoclonal antibodies that demonstrate strong clinical activity for patients with unresectable NSCLC stage III, and Astrazeneca hopes to further evaluate these combinations in a registry trial.
How many cancer treatments does Astrazeneca currently have under study and how many do you expect to be approved in Europe in the near future?
At Astrazeneca, our industry-leading product portfolio includes investigational therapies in various phases of clinical development, from approved drugs to countless molecules in the initial phase of clinical trials. We continue to work closely with the health authorities and have hope to see more approvals in the near future for the benefit of even more patients.
Where are innovative cancer treatments heading?
We focus on six scientific platforms: the response to DNA damage, represented by our innovative PARP inhibitor Lynparza; tumor drivers and resistance, such as our EGFR-TKI leader Tagrisso; immuno-oncology, anchored in immunotherapies such as Imfinzi and tremelimumab; Antibody and Drug Conjugates (ADCs), where Astrazeneca is at the forefront with our best Enhertu ADCs and datopotamab deruxtecan, in collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo; and Cell and Epigenetic Therapy, where we are investing heavily in the promise of these platforms to discover new mechanisms for fight disease.
What role does Oncology play within the company?
Oncology is a fundamental part of Astrazeneca’s global business as one of our three main therapeutic areas, which also include diseases cardiovascular and respiratory. Astrazeneca is leading a revolution in Oncology with the ambition to provide cures for cancer in all its forms, following science to understand cancer and all its complexities to discover, develop and deliver life-changing medications for patients.
The company focuses on some of the toughest tumors. Through innovation we have built one of the most diverse portfolios and projects in the industry, with the potential to catalyze change in the practice of Medicine and transform the patient’s experience.
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“Through innovation we have built one of the most diverse portfolios in the pharmaceutical industry” |
What are the short- and long-term goals of the company in Oncology?
Astrazeneca has a vision to redefine cancer care and, one day, eliminate cancer as a cause of death.
What does the Oncohematology area of the company mean?
We believe that Hematology is one of the most fascinating and promising areas of science. Applying our deep knowledge of the blood cancers And leveraging our strength in solid tumor oncology, we are driving the development of new therapies designed to target underlying disease factors through our six scientific platforms.
In the case of Calquence (acalabrutinib), we have more than 20 ongoing clinical trials for the treatment of multiple B-cell blood cancers, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and others. hematologic malignancies. In addition to acalabrutinib, we are actively investigating eight other molecules in three broad categories of hematologic malignancies, such as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma.
Main areas of interest include advancing promising cell death molecules to address unmet needs in various types of cancer, and harnessing the immune system to attack and destroy tumors. In addition to monotherapies, our clinical development programs study combination therapy to achieve better results for patients as they progress through their treatment.
Do you think it will be possible to cure cancer in the future?
Astrazeneca’s ambition is to provide a cure for cancer in all its forms. There are real reasons for hope, as the extraordinary advances in care and treatment In recent decades, outcomes and quality of life have radically changed, especially for patients diagnosed in the early stages of cancer, where survival rates are higher and patients can be cured.
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“We must increase screening, access to biomarker tests and early diagnosis” |
We know that healing is not the reality today in many stadiums. Cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of death worldwide and there are great challenges in bringing more patients closer to a cure, including the advancement of science and ensuring equitable access quality care, as well as the strengthening of health systems to increase screening, access to biomarker tests and early diagnosis.
As we push for treatment in earlier settings, we also need to be open to considering different ways of measuring the clinical benefit that can be quickly evaluated, to avoid delaying the arrival of new critical drugs to patients who can benefit today. We are passionate about possibilities and the power of collaboration to face these challenges and permanently change what it means to live with this disease.
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