– In MONALEESA-3, Kisqali plus fulvestrant achieved statistically significant overall survival benefit vs. fulvestrant alone in postmenopausal women (HR=0.724; p=0.00455)[1]
– Kisqali is the only CDK4/6 inhibitor to demonstrate positive overall survival in two pivotal Phase III trials — consistently demonstrating approximately 30% reduction in the risk of death
– Overall survival benefit proven with multiple combination partners and the largest number of patients in MONALEESA-3 plus MONALEESA-7 make Kisqali the CDK4/6 inhibitor with unparalleled overall survival evidence
– MONALEESA-3 data to be presented in ESMO Congress 2019 Presidential Symposium
EAST HANOVER, NJ, USA I September 29, 2019 I Novartis today announced results from the MONALEESA-3 trial, which showed Kisqali® (ribociclib) achieved statistically significant improvement in overall survival (OS). This is the second Phase III trial in which Kisqali combination therapy met the secondary endpoint of overall survival at the pre-planned interim analysis. MONALEESA-3 evaluated efficacy and safety of Kisqali plus fulvestrant in postmenopausal women with hormone-receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 negative (HR+/HER2-) advanced or metastatic breast cancer. These data will be presented as a late-breaker oral presentation in the Presidential Symposium at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2019.
“Seen now in two Phase III trials, ribociclib consistently and significantly prolongs life among premenopausal and postmenopausal women, and in combination with an aromatase inhibitor and fulvestrant. These results arm oncologists with more evidence to make a confident treatment choice for their hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer patients,” said Dennis J. Slamon, MD, Director of Clinical/Translational Research, University of California, Los Angeles Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Kisqali in combination with fulvestrant met its secondary endpoint of overall survival, demonstrating a statistically significant improvement in survival with a 28% reduction in risk of death (median OS not reached vs. 40.0 months; HR=0.724; 95% CI: 0.568-0.924; p=0.00455). The significant extension in survival met the early efficacy stopping criteria at a pre-specified interim analysis. At 42 months, estimated rates of survival were 58% for Kisqali combination treatment and 46% for fulvestrant alone. Results in the first-line and second-line subgroups, including in patients who relapsed within 12 months of adjuvant treatment, were consistent with the overall MONALEESA-3 patient population.
Median PFS in the first-line was also reached at this analysis and demonstrated that Kisqali in combination with fulvestrant has a median PFS of 33.6 months compared to 19.2 months in the placebo arm (HR=0.546; 95% CI: 0.415-0.718). Additionally, the need for chemotherapy was delayed in all patients who were prescribed Kisqali plus fulvestrant (HR=0.696; 95% CI: 0.551-0.879).
“The remarkable results from MONALEESA-3 and MONALEESA-7 make Kisqali the CDK4/6 inhibitor with consistently superior overall survival,” said Susanne Schaffert, PhD, President, Novartis Oncology. “In nearly 25 years, the five-year survival rates in HR+ metastatic breast cancer have improved by less than 5%. We are committed to helping give these women more life and are reimagining a world where metastatic breast cancer becomes a curable disease.”
MONALEESA-3 is the largest trial to evaluate a CDK4/6 inhibitor plus fulvestrant as initial therapy in postmenopausal women (N=726). The trial included women with no prior endocrine therapy, including those diagnosed de novo, women who relapsed within 12 months of adjuvant therapy and women who progressed on endocrine therapy for advanced disease. The most common grade 3/4 adverse events of special interest observed in this analysis in patients who received Kisqali plus fulvestrant compared to fulvestrant alone were neutropenia (57.1% vs 0.8%), hepatobiliary toxicity (13.7% vs 5.8%), QTc prolongation (3.1% vs 1.2%), respiratory disorders (2.3% vs 3.3%) and interstitial lung disease (0.2% vs 0%).
“Pre-clinical data show that Kisqali is distinct from other CDK4/6 inhibitors in its ability to more selectively target and inhibit CDK4,” said Jeff Engelman, MD, PhD Global Head of Oncology Research, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. “CDK4 is a major driver of breast cancer progression and inhibiting it has been shown to block the growth of breast cancer cells.”
There currently remains no cure for advanced breast cancer. Breast cancer is the number one cause of cancer death in European women, claiming the lives of more than 150,000 women in 2018.3
About Kisqali® (ribociclib)
Kisqali® (ribociclib) is the CDK4/6 inhibitor with the largest body of first-line clinical trial evidence demonstrating consistent and sustained efficacy compared to endocrine therapy alone1. Kisqali is the only CDK4/6 inhibitor to achieve statistically significant overall survival in two Phase III trials with two distinct patient populations1. Overall survival results from MONALEESA-7 were presented at ASCO 2019, demonstrating Kisqali plus endocrine therapy significantly extends life in premenopausal women with HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer. Overall survival follow-up is ongoing for the Phase III MONALEESA-2 trial.
Kisqali is approved for use in more than 75 countries around the world, including the United States and European Union member states. Kisqali was initially approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March 2017 and by the European Commission (EC) in August 2017, as initial endocrine-based therapy for postmenopausal women with HR+/HER2- locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer in combination with an aromatase inhibitor based on findings from the pivotal MONALEESA-2 trial. Kisqali in combination with an aromatase inhibitor was approved for the treatment of pre-, peri- or postmenopausal women as initial endocrine based therapy, and also indicated for use in combination with fulvestrant as both first- or second-line therapy in postmenopausal women by the FDA in July 2018 and by the EC in December 2018. Regulatory filings are underway with other health authorities worldwide1.
Novartis is continuing to reimagine cancer by investigating Kisqali in early breast cancer. The NATALEE study is a Phase III clinical trial of Kisqali with endocrine therapy in the adjuvant treatment of HR+/HER2- early breast cancer being conducted in collaboration with Translational Research In Oncology (TRIO)1.
Kisqali was developed by the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) under a research collaboration with Astex Pharmaceuticals.
About Novartis in Advanced Breast Cancer
Novartis tackles breast cancer with superior science, collaboration and a passion for transforming patient care. We’ve taken a bold approach to our research by including patient populations often neglected in clinical trials, identifying new pathways or mutations that may play a role in disease progression and developing therapies that not only maintain, but also improve, quality of life for patients. Our priority over the past 30 years and today is to deliver treatments proven to improve and extend lives for those diagnosed with advanced breast cancer.
About Novartis
Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people’s lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world’s top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach more than 750 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 108,000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at www.novartis.com.
Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at http://twitter.com/novartis, follow @NovartisNews for the latest News & Media Updates at https://twitter.com/novartisnews and follow @NovartisCancer at https://twitter.com/NovartisCancer
For Novartis multimedia content, please visit www.novartis.com/news/media-library
For questions about the site or required registration, please contact media.relations@novartis.com
References
- Slamon, DJ, et al. Overall survival (OS) results of the Phase III MONALEESA-3 trial of postmenopausal patients (pts) with hormone receptor–positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor 2–negative (HER2−) advanced breast cancer (ABC) treated with fulvestrant (FUL) ± ribociclib (RIB). Presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress, September 29, 2019, Barcelona, Spain (LBA7).
- Slamon DJ, et al. Ribociclib (RIB) + fulvestrant (FUL) in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive (HR+), HER2-negative (HER2-) advanced breast cancer (ABC): Results from MONALEESA-3. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2018.
- Ferlay, J, et al. Global Cancer Observatory: Cancer Today. International Agency for Research on Cancer. Available at: https://gco.iarc.fr/today/home, accessed September 10, 2019.
SOURCE: Novartis
Post Views: 16
– In MONALEESA-3, Kisqali plus fulvestrant achieved statistically significant overall survival benefit vs. fulvestrant alone in postmenopausal women (HR=0.724; p=0.00455)[1]
– Kisqali is the only CDK4/6 inhibitor to demonstrate positive overall survival in two pivotal Phase III trials — consistently demonstrating approximately 30% reduction in the risk of death
– Overall survival benefit proven with multiple combination partners and the largest number of patients in MONALEESA-3 plus MONALEESA-7 make Kisqali the CDK4/6 inhibitor with unparalleled overall survival evidence
– MONALEESA-3 data to be presented in ESMO Congress 2019 Presidential Symposium
EAST HANOVER, NJ, USA I September 29, 2019 I Novartis today announced results from the MONALEESA-3 trial, which showed Kisqali® (ribociclib) achieved statistically significant improvement in overall survival (OS). This is the second Phase III trial in which Kisqali combination therapy met the secondary endpoint of overall survival at the pre-planned interim analysis. MONALEESA-3 evaluated efficacy and safety of Kisqali plus fulvestrant in postmenopausal women with hormone-receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 negative (HR+/HER2-) advanced or metastatic breast cancer. These data will be presented as a late-breaker oral presentation in the Presidential Symposium at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2019.
“Seen now in two Phase III trials, ribociclib consistently and significantly prolongs life among premenopausal and postmenopausal women, and in combination with an aromatase inhibitor and fulvestrant. These results arm oncologists with more evidence to make a confident treatment choice for their hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer patients,” said Dennis J. Slamon, MD, Director of Clinical/Translational Research, University of California, Los Angeles Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Kisqali in combination with fulvestrant met its secondary endpoint of overall survival, demonstrating a statistically significant improvement in survival with a 28% reduction in risk of death (median OS not reached vs. 40.0 months; HR=0.724; 95% CI: 0.568-0.924; p=0.00455). The significant extension in survival met the early efficacy stopping criteria at a pre-specified interim analysis. At 42 months, estimated rates of survival were 58% for Kisqali combination treatment and 46% for fulvestrant alone. Results in the first-line and second-line subgroups, including in patients who relapsed within 12 months of adjuvant treatment, were consistent with the overall MONALEESA-3 patient population.
Median PFS in the first-line was also reached at this analysis and demonstrated that Kisqali in combination with fulvestrant has a median PFS of 33.6 months compared to 19.2 months in the placebo arm (HR=0.546; 95% CI: 0.415-0.718). Additionally, the need for chemotherapy was delayed in all patients who were prescribed Kisqali plus fulvestrant (HR=0.696; 95% CI: 0.551-0.879).
“The remarkable results from MONALEESA-3 and MONALEESA-7 make Kisqali the CDK4/6 inhibitor with consistently superior overall survival,” said Susanne Schaffert, PhD, President, Novartis Oncology. “In nearly 25 years, the five-year survival rates in HR+ metastatic breast cancer have improved by less than 5%. We are committed to helping give these women more life and are reimagining a world where metastatic breast cancer becomes a curable disease.”
MONALEESA-3 is the largest trial to evaluate a CDK4/6 inhibitor plus fulvestrant as initial therapy in postmenopausal women (N=726). The trial included women with no prior endocrine therapy, including those diagnosed de novo, women who relapsed within 12 months of adjuvant therapy and women who progressed on endocrine therapy for advanced disease. The most common grade 3/4 adverse events of special interest observed in this analysis in patients who received Kisqali plus fulvestrant compared to fulvestrant alone were neutropenia (57.1% vs 0.8%), hepatobiliary toxicity (13.7% vs 5.8%), QTc prolongation (3.1% vs 1.2%), respiratory disorders (2.3% vs 3.3%) and interstitial lung disease (0.2% vs 0%).
“Pre-clinical data show that Kisqali is distinct from other CDK4/6 inhibitors in its ability to more selectively target and inhibit CDK4,” said Jeff Engelman, MD, PhD Global Head of Oncology Research, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. “CDK4 is a major driver of breast cancer progression and inhibiting it has been shown to block the growth of breast cancer cells.”
There currently remains no cure for advanced breast cancer. Breast cancer is the number one cause of cancer death in European women, claiming the lives of more than 150,000 women in 2018.3
About Kisqali® (ribociclib)
Kisqali® (ribociclib) is the CDK4/6 inhibitor with the largest body of first-line clinical trial evidence demonstrating consistent and sustained efficacy compared to endocrine therapy alone1. Kisqali is the only CDK4/6 inhibitor to achieve statistically significant overall survival in two Phase III trials with two distinct patient populations1. Overall survival results from MONALEESA-7 were presented at ASCO 2019, demonstrating Kisqali plus endocrine therapy significantly extends life in premenopausal women with HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer. Overall survival follow-up is ongoing for the Phase III MONALEESA-2 trial.
Kisqali is approved for use in more than 75 countries around the world, including the United States and European Union member states. Kisqali was initially approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March 2017 and by the European Commission (EC) in August 2017, as initial endocrine-based therapy for postmenopausal women with HR+/HER2- locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer in combination with an aromatase inhibitor based on findings from the pivotal MONALEESA-2 trial. Kisqali in combination with an aromatase inhibitor was approved for the treatment of pre-, peri- or postmenopausal women as initial endocrine based therapy, and also indicated for use in combination with fulvestrant as both first- or second-line therapy in postmenopausal women by the FDA in July 2018 and by the EC in December 2018. Regulatory filings are underway with other health authorities worldwide1.
Novartis is continuing to reimagine cancer by investigating Kisqali in early breast cancer. The NATALEE study is a Phase III clinical trial of Kisqali with endocrine therapy in the adjuvant treatment of HR+/HER2- early breast cancer being conducted in collaboration with Translational Research In Oncology (TRIO)1.
Kisqali was developed by the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) under a research collaboration with Astex Pharmaceuticals.
About Novartis in Advanced Breast Cancer
Novartis tackles breast cancer with superior science, collaboration and a passion for transforming patient care. We’ve taken a bold approach to our research by including patient populations often neglected in clinical trials, identifying new pathways or mutations that may play a role in disease progression and developing therapies that not only maintain, but also improve, quality of life for patients. Our priority over the past 30 years and today is to deliver treatments proven to improve and extend lives for those diagnosed with advanced breast cancer.
About Novartis
Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people’s lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world’s top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach more than 750 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 108,000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at www.novartis.com.
Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at http://twitter.com/novartis, follow @NovartisNews for the latest News & Media Updates at https://twitter.com/novartisnews and follow @NovartisCancer at https://twitter.com/NovartisCancer
For Novartis multimedia content, please visit www.novartis.com/news/media-library
For questions about the site or required registration, please contact media.relations@novartis.com
References
- Slamon, DJ, et al. Overall survival (OS) results of the Phase III MONALEESA-3 trial of postmenopausal patients (pts) with hormone receptor–positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor 2–negative (HER2−) advanced breast cancer (ABC) treated with fulvestrant (FUL) ± ribociclib (RIB). Presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress, September 29, 2019, Barcelona, Spain (LBA7).
- Slamon DJ, et al. Ribociclib (RIB) + fulvestrant (FUL) in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive (HR+), HER2-negative (HER2-) advanced breast cancer (ABC): Results from MONALEESA-3. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2018.
- Ferlay, J, et al. Global Cancer Observatory: Cancer Today. International Agency for Research on Cancer. Available at: https://gco.iarc.fr/today/home, accessed September 10, 2019.
SOURCE: Novartis
Post Views: 16
