Novartis' ceritinib improves survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Swiss drug major Novartis (NOVN: VX) has published clinical trial results showing the investigational compound LDK378 (ceritinib) achieved an overall response rate of 58% and a median progression-free survival of seven months in adults with advanced anaplastic lymphoma kinase positive (ALK+) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the study evaluated 114 ALK+ NSCLC patients treated with LDK378, including patients who had progressed during or following treatment with commonly prescribed ALK inhibitor crizotinib and those who had not received prior treatment with an ALK inhibitor. This study is part of the ongoing Novartis clinical trial program in this patient population.

Lead investigator Alice Shaw, of Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, said: “The majority of patients in the study experienced a clinical response to LDK378. In addition, responses were seen in untreated lesions in the central nervous system in patients who previously received crizotinib. These results are important because most patients experience a disease relapse less than a year after starting crizotinib and have limited treatment options.”