NVCR - Novocure Zai Lab surge as lung cancer therapy meets main goal in late-stage trial

U.S.-based health equipment developer NovoCure Limited ( NASDAQ: NVCR ) and Chinese biotech Zai Lab Limited ( NASDAQ: ZLAB ) announced Thursday that their pivotal Phase 3 trial for Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) met the primary endpoint in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

NovoCure ( NVCR ) added ~67% while Zai Lab’s ( ZLAB ) American Depository Shares surged ~33% in reaction.

TTFields are electric fields designed to exert physical forces to kill cancer cells. And the trial named LUNAR is an open-label, randomized study to evaluate TTFields along with standard therapies in stage 4 NSCLC patients who progressed while on or after platinum-based therapy.

According to the companies, the study met its primary endpoint, indicating a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival over standard therapies such as immune checkpoint inhibitors alone.

There was also a positive overall survival trend in patients who received TTFields and chemotherapy docetaxel versus docetaxel alone.

Without detailed data, the companies said that patients in the experimental arm of the study well tolerated the TTFields therapy.

NovoCure ( NVCR ) plans to disclose the full results at a future medical conference and file the marketing applications for TTFields in the U.S. and Europe in H2 2023.

Seeking Alpha contributor From Growth to Value predicted a high probability for a successful LUNR study.

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