Significant survival benefit for Novartis' Tafinlar and Mekinist combination

Swiss drug major Novartis (NOVN: VX) has announced data from a Phase III study showing a significant survival benefit in BRAF V600E/K mutation-positive metastatic melanoma when treated with the combination of Tafinlar (dabrafenib) and Mekinist (trametinib) compared to Tafinlar as a monotherapy.

This is the first BRAF/MEK inhibitor combination to demonstrate a statistically-significant overall survival benefit for the patient population in two Phase III studies. Results were presented yesterday at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago.

Tafinlar and Mekinist achieved a statistically significant overall survival benefit compared to Tafinlar alone, a median of 25.1 months against 18.7 months.  The analysis of the COMBI-d study data also showed median progression-free survival of 11 months, overall response rate of 69%, and median duration of response of 12.9 months.