Results from a late-stage study of AstraZeneca PLC’s (LON:AZN) Lynparza tablets, showed the drug helped women with ovarian cancer to live longer without their disease worsening when given as a first-line treatment.
Lynparza, which Astra is developing alongside fellow Big Pharma Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK), is already approved for later use in ovarian and breast cancer patients with so-called BRCA mutations.
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The pair said they will now begin talks with regulators about approving the earlier use of the drug in women with BRCA faults.
“For the first time, we see a significant and clinically-impactful improvement in progression-free survival in the 1st-line maintenance setting for women with BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer treated with a PARP inhibitor,” said AZN’s chief medical officer Sean Bohen.
“The SOLO-1 data reinforce the importance of knowing BRCA status at diagnosis, as this may enable women with BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer to receive Lynparza earlier.”
Lynparza, which had been dumped by AstraZeneca at one stage before being revived by current chief executive Pascal Soriot, is part of a class of treatments called PARP inhibitors.
PARP – or poly-ADP ribose polymerase – is a protein which helps damaged cells to recover. Taking a PARP inhibitor stops it from repairing cancer cells which the eventually die.
Astra shares are down 0.2% to 5,196p early on Wednesday morning.