Yuhan Corporation's lung cancer new drug 'Lecraza (ingredient name riboceranib)' and the 'Librement (amivantamab)' of the United States Johnson & Johnson (J&J) have proven the potential for combination therapy as a first-line treatment for lung cancer. It has increased the survival rate of lung cancer patients by more than a year, expanding the possibility of survival for over four years.
On the 26th (local time), J&J announced the results of a clinical trial phase 3 (MARIPOSA) comparing the combination therapy of Lecraza and Librement with AstraZeneca's Tagrisso, which was previously used as the standard treatment for lung cancer, at the European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC) held in Paris, France.
According to the announcement, Lecraza and Librement significantly increased the overall survival (OS) for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 deletions or the L858R substitution mutation. Although the exact numbers have not been disclosed as the median overall survival has not yet been reached, J&J noted that it is expected to extend patients' survival by more than a year compared to Tagrisso. The overall survival for Tagrisso is 36.7 months, and there are assessments indicating that Lecraza could allow for survival beyond four years.
OS is the time from the beginning of treatment to death, and it is considered one of the key indicators of anticancer drug efficacy among various indicators. In interim follow-up results over 37.8 months, the three-year survival rate for the combination therapy of Lecraza and Librement was 60%, higher than Tagrisso's 51%. This difference widened over time, with the survival rates at 42 months showing a greater gap of 56% compared to 44%. Based on this data, J&J explained that Lecraza and Librement are expected to extend patients' survival by more than 12 months compared to Tagrisso.
Nicola Girard, a professor at Paris-Saclay University in France, noted, "The combination of the two drugs has been proven through survival curves to allow patients to live longer, and the benefits accessible to patients grow over time," adding, "A new era in the treatment of EGFR mutation non-small cell lung cancer has dawned," and emphasized, "All patients should receive the most effective treatment in first-line therapy to have the best chance of surviving longer."
Previously, the combination of Lecraza and Librement also demonstrated higher figures than Tagrisso in the progression-free survival (PFS) indicator, which measures the duration in which the disease does not worsen after treatment. In October 2023, clinical results were disclosed achieving a primary endpoint where a statistically significant improvement in PFS compared to Tagrisso was confirmed.
Lecraza is a domestic anticancer agent that Yuhan Corporation transferred the global commercialization rights to Johnson & Johnson's subsidiary Janssen for up to 1.4 trillion won in 2018. It was approved as a first-line treatment for patients with EGFR mutation non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) along with J&J's Librement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August last year and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in December.