Interview: AstraZeneca’s oncology expert Susan Galbraith on the company’s exciting pipeline

The full year report from Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) in February was full of optimism. Chief executive Pascal Soriot stressed that 2013 had been a year of ‘momentum’ for the company and outlined three core therapy areas for 2014, including oncology. The Pharma Letter spoke to Susan Galbraith, senior vice president head of oncology innovative medicines unit, about AstraZeneca’s exciting oncology pipeline.

How strong is AstraZeneca’s oncology pipeline?

The company already has many successfully marketed oncology products, including Faslodex (fulvestrant) for breast cancer and Caprelsa (vandetanib) for differentiated thyroid cancer, as well as Iressa (gefitinib) for lung cancer which alone achieved $647 million sales in 2013. In addition to these, AstraZeneca has a number of candidates in Phase III, Dr Galbraith explained. These include olaparib for ovarian cancer and breast cancer, moxetumomab, an antibody for late stage hairy cell leukemia, and selumetinib for non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Beyond this, Dr Galbraith said there are a number of programs in the Phase I space moving very quickly, especially in immunology. The company’s leading cancer pipeline molecule is tremelimumab for mesothelioma, as well as MEDI4736, an anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody (MAb) + anti-CTLA4 MAb that is being studied in patients with advanced solid tumors.