Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has said its chemotherapy-free combination extended lung cancer patients’ lives compared to AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN)’s Tagrisso drug in a head-to-head study.
The combination showed “clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvement in overall survival” against Astra’s blockbuster treatment, a Tuesday statement said.
A combination of J&J’s rybrevant and lazertinib drugs had been approved for use in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer last August.
Though the combination had been proven to prevent the disease worsening, survival benefits were not known at the time.
J&J noted improvement in the median overall survival rate was expected to exceed a year based on the study.
“The combination of these two agents previously demonstrated an improvement in progression-free survival,” Georgetown University School of Medicine professor Stephen Liu commented.
“But this does not always capture the impact on the entire treatment course. Evaluation of overall survival can better demonstrate the benefit.”
According to the American Lung Association, non-small cell lung cancer is the most common type of such disease in the US.
“With less than 20% of patients living beyond five years, an incredible unmet need remains for epidermal growth factor receptor-positive lung cancer,” J&J global therapeutic area head of oncology Yusri Elsayed added.
“These [...] results show can rybrevant plus lazertinib extend survival beyond the current standard of care, providing patients with more time and hope in their fight against this devastating disease.”
J&J shares climbed by 2.1% on Tuesday, while Astra fell 1.1%.