Pfizer Reports Positive Results in Late Stage Trial for Colorectal Cancer Treatment

A new drug combination has been shown to double survival time for patients with a particularly aggressive type of colorectal cancer, according to results from a late-stage clinical trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting in Chicago.

The treatment combines a standard chemotherapy drug with cetuximab, an antibody therapy, and Braftovi, a Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)-developed pill targeting the BRAF V600E mutation. This mutation is found in roughly 10% of colorectal cancer cases and is associated with poor survival rates and limited response to traditional treatments, explained Dr. Lionel Kankeu Fonkoua of the Mayo Clinic, who was not involved in the study.

Braftovi had previously been approved in 2020 for use alongside cetuximab after other therapies had failed. The new trial evaluated the combination as an initial, or first-line, treatment.

According to Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), patients with the BRAF V600E mutation face more than twice the risk of death compared to those without it. The FDA granted fast-track approval for the drug combo as a first-line treatment in December, pending additional data to confirm its benefits.

The trial results showed that patients receiving the three-drug regimen lived for an average of 30 months, compared to 15 months for those on standard chemotherapy, with or without the addition of bevacizumab.

PFE has surged by over 2% in the past week.

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Disclosure. None.