Boehringer Ingelheim highlights positive new lung cancer trial data

Boehringer Ingelheim has announced that data from a new clinical trial of its lung cancer therapy afatinib has been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Results from the pivotal LUX-Lung 3 phase III study showed that afatinib is able to delay tumour growth and improve disease-related symptoms and quality of life among patients with EGFR mutation-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

The drug shows several advantages over standard chemotherapy and has also demonstrated further benefits in other studies carried out as part of the LUX-Lung trial programme.

Afatinib has already been recommended for European regulatory approval by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency.

Professor Klaus Dugi, corporate senior vice-president for medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim, said: "We are delighted that the Journal of Clinical Oncology has chosen to publish data from this programme, which adds to the growing body of positive clinical evidence for afatinib."

Last week, it was announced that Boehringer Ingelheim and partner Lilly will be commencing a new trial to further demonstrate the benefits of their diabetes drug Trajenta.