Pfizer Highlights 'Unprecedented' 5 Year Data From Cancer Drug In Rare Form Of Advanced Lung Cancer

On Friday, Pfizer Inc PFE released longer-term follow-up results from the Phase 3 CROWN trial evaluating Lorbrena (lorlatinib) available in Europe as Lorviqua versus Xalkori (crizotinib) in people with previously untreated, anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Also Read: Pfizer Agrees To Settle Over 10,000 Lawsuits About Cancer Risks Associated With Discontinued Heartburn Drug Zantac.

After five years of median follow-up, median progression-free survival (PFS) based on investigator assessment was not reached with Lorbrena, with an observed Hazard Ratio (HR) of 0.19, representing an 81% reduction in disease progression or death rate compared to Xalkori.

Further, 60% of patients treated with Lorbrena were alive without disease progression after five years, compared to 8% on the Xalkori treatment arm.

“These results from the CROWN trial are unprecedented, as the majority of patients on Lorbrena are living beyond five years without disease progression,” said Roger Dansey, Chief Development Officer, Oncology, Pfizer.

In this updated analysis, Lorbrena showed a 94% reduction in the risk of developing intracranial progression.

The median time to intracranial progression was not reached with Lorbrena and was 16.4 months with Xalkori.

Only 4 of 114 people without brain metastases at baseline receiving Lorbrena developed brain metastases within the first 16 months of treatment, compared to 39 of 109 patients who received Xalkori.

At the time of analysis, 50% of patients in the CROWN trial were still receiving Lorbrena compared to 5% of patients receiving Xalkori.

The safety profiles of Lorbrena and Xalkori in the five-year follow-up were consistent with previous findings, with no new safety signals reported for Lorbrena.

Reuters noted that Pfizer expects its cancer drug Lorbrena to top $1 billion in annual sales by 2030 based on the data presented on Friday.

Read Next: Pfizer’s Path To Profit: A Look At PFE Stock As Drugmaker Rolls Out $1.5B In Cost Reductions.

Price Action: PFE shares are up 0.44% at $28.33 at last check Friday.

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