Janssen combination shows promise in lung cancer

The Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) unit Janssen has announced interim results from the CHRYSALIS study, evaluating amivantamab in combination with the third-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor lazertinib in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR exon 19 deletions or L858R mutations.

Amivantamab, formerly JNJ-61186372, is an investigational EGFR-MET bispecific antibody with immune cell-directing activity that targets activating and resistance EGFR mutations and MET mutations and amplifications. The production and development of the antibody followed Janssen's licensing agreement with Genmab (CPH: GMAB) for use of its DuoBody technology platform.

Lazertinib is an oral, third-generation, brain-penetrant, EGFR TKI that targets both the T790M mutation and activating EGFR mutations while sparing wild type-EGFR. In 2018, Janssen entered into a license and collaboration agreement with Yuhan Corporation (KRX: 000100) for its development.