PFE - Promising Trial Results Show New Standards In Cancer Treatment And Diagnostics Are On The Horizon | Benzinga
On Friday, Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) revealed its drug for an advanced form of lung cancer showed promising long-term results in a late-stage trial. On Monday, Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) and Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) also reported durable efficiency of their combined melanoma treatment that consists of an experimental mRNA vaccine and Merck’s blockbuster immunotherapy, Keytruda.
Pfizer Is Aiming To Set The Treatment Standard For Lung Cancer
With encouraging results, Pfizer is getting another step closer to establish its drug as the new standard treatment for lung cancer. Lorbrena has helped patients live longer without their cancer progressing, with most people experiencing that benefit for over five years. Lorbena also lowered the risk of the cancer progressing to brain metastasis as lung cancers with the "ALK-positive” mutation are especially adept at spreading to the brain and within the first two years of being diagnosed. The drug is already approved in the U.S. for treating adults with ALK gene mutation suffering from advanced non-small cell lung cancer. According to a release from Pfizer, 72,000 people are diagnosed with that specific form of lung cancer each year across the globe. Although Lorbena has been approved for this aggressive diagnosis that often affects younger demographics, it is not considered a standard treatment for the condition, which is something Pfizer is hoping to change with its five-year data, which is from the same trial that resulted in the drug’s U.S. approval.
Compared to its older cancer drug, ...