March 17 (Reuters) – Pfizer said on Tuesday its experimental combination reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 40% in patients with breast cancer.
Here are some details:
* Pfizer’s atirmociclib in combination with fulvestrant, ahormone therapy, was being tested in a mid-stage study inpatients whose cancer had spread and had received priortreatment. * The experimental drug combo was being compared tofulvestrant or everolimus plus exemestane, a widely usedtargeted therapy regimen for postmenopausal women with thecommon type of breast cancer * Pfizer said the study enrolled patients whose cancerreturned soon after treatment with widely used CDK4/6 drugs, agroup that is harder to treat. * The company said more than 90% of patients startedatirmociclib within three months of stopping their previouscancer medicine. * The drug had a manageable safety profile, with 6.4% ofpatients stopping treatment due to side effects, Pfizer said. * The company said overall survival data, a secondary goal,were still early and not ready for conclusions at this stage. * Pfizer said the results support plans to test atirmociclibin first-line and early-stage of breast cancer, wherelonger-lasting disease control could help more patients. * Atirmociclib is an experimental oral drug that targetsCDK4, a cell-cycle protein that drives tumor growth. * The company said a large late-stage study of the drug innewly diagnosed metastatic breast cancer patients is alreadyunderway.
(Reporting by Sahil Pandey in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
