Novartis' Kisqali succeeds in early breast cancer trial

Novartis (NOVN: VX) saw its shares rise nearly 6% in early trading, as the Swiss pharma giant announced that its cancer medicine Kisqali (ribociclib) has met its primary endpoint in a pivotal trial in patients with early breast cancer (EBC).

The successful interim results from the NATALEE Phase III trial are the first for Kisqali in EBC, which represents more than 90% of patients with breast cancer.

The trial’s primary endpoint was invasive disease-free survival (iDFS) – indicating a patient’s cancer has not returned – in patients with stage II and III HR+/HER2- EBC, regardless of nodal involvement. This represents the broadest patient population of any CDK4/6 inhibitor trial to date.