AstraZeneca's lung cancer drug shows promise in passing Phase III trial

According to a statement released by British drug-maker AstraZeneca July 18, the company’s new lung cancer drug is on the right track for government approval.

The drug, Tagrisso, underwent a 419-person, multinational randomized Phase III trial and came out “demonstrating superior progression-free survival compared to standard platinum-based doublet chemotherapy.”

The drug is a second-line treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer whose disease hasn’t responded to first-line treatments. It is especially targeted for patients with a specific mutation, EGFRm, to help slow tumor growth.

According to the company’s statement, the drug also did better than chemotherapy in objective response rates, disease control rate and duration of response.

Clinical trials of Tagrisso will continue to fully determine the drug’s effectiveness, according to AstraZeneca. As Reuters pointed out, sales from this drug could help make up lost revenue from expiring patents on other drugs.