Sanofi-aventis (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: REGN) announced results from the Phase III VITAL trial evaluating the investigational agent aflibercept (VEGF Trap) for the second-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The data showed that adding aflibercept to the chemotherapy drug docetaxel did not meet the pre-specified criteria for the primary endpoint of improvement in overall survival compared with a regimen of docetaxel plus placebo.
The treatment emergent adverse events (AEs) on the aflibercept arm with an incidence that was 10 percent greater than the control arm were stomatitis, weight decrease, hypertension, epistaxis and dysphonia. Grade 3 or 4 AEs that occurred at a frequency of at least 5 percent in patients who received aflibercept were fatigue, stomatitis, disease progression, hypertension, febrile neutropenia, dyspnea, neutropenia, and asthenia. AEs leading to treatment discontinuation occurred in 27.2 percent of patients in the aflibercept arm compared to 14.6 percent in the placebo arm. The types and frequencies of AEs reported in the aflibercept treatment arm were generally consistent with those reported in previous studies with anti-VEGF agents.
The companies will conduct a detailed analysis of the efficacy and safety results of the VITAL study. Full results will be presented at an upcoming medical meeting.
"Bringing new and innovative cancer therapies to patients can be incredibly challenging, especially in difficult-to-treat cancers such as second-line non-small cell lung cancer," said Debasish Roychowdhury, SVP and Head of Global Oncology Division, sanofi-aventis. "Our Phase III trials of aflibercept in metastatic colorectal cancer and hormone-refractory metastatic prostate cancer are underway to determine the clinical potential of aflibercept for patients with these advanced cancers."
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