JAZZ - Jazz Pharma Zymeworks post 84% overall survival for GIT cancer candidate

Jazz Pharmaceuticals ( NASDAQ: JAZZ ) and Zymeworks ( NASDAQ: ZYME ) said Thursday that zanidatamab, an experimental therapy for gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma, indicated an 84% overall survival (OS) at 18 months as a first-line option with chemotherapy.

The companies announced the findings following a preliminary analysis in its global Phase 2 trial for the drug combo involving 46 patients with HER2-expressing metastatic gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (mGEA).

The overall survival data indicate that 84% of patients who received the treatment were still alive at 18 months.

At the time of the data cut, when the median duration of follow-up stood at 26.5 months, the trial participants hadn’t approached the median overall survival.

Seventeen patients indicated an ongoing response at the time of the analysis, while the median duration of response reached 20.4 months.

Data were part of a presentation at the ongoing ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in San Francisco.

In November, Jazz ( JAZZ ) announced a licensing deal with Zymeworks ( ZYME ) to develop and sell zanidatamab in regions except the Asia Pacific, where Chinese biotech BeiGene ( BGNE ) holds exclusive licensing rights.

Read: Seeking Alpha contributor Bret Jensen argues that the agreement has given Zymeworks ( ZYME ) enough liquidity as it advances the lead asset.

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