Boehringer Ingelheim reports positive data for lung cancer drug

Boehringer Ingelheim has reported positive new clinical data that further underlines the benefits of its lung cancer therapy afatinib.

Results from the two pivotal large-scale phase III registration studies LUX-Lung 3 and LUX-Lung 6 revealed that the drug can deliver superior efficacy and a manageable safety profile in both Asian and non-Asian lung cancer patients compared to chemotherapy.

Meanwhile, a new analysis of the trials has substantiated the consistent safety profile of afatinib as a first-line treatment in Asian and non-Asian patients with EGFR-mutation positive non-small cell lung cancer.

This demonstrates the potential benefits this therapy can deliver among important subpopulations worldwide.

Professor Klaus Dugi, corporate senior vice-president for medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim, said: "Afatinib has clearly demonstrated its clinical benefit in our large, robust LUX-Lung clinical trial programme, which is now further supported by strong efficacy and safety data in important subpopulations."

The drug received approval from the European Commission last month and is being marketed in the EU under the brand name Giotrif.