AstraZeneca and Chi-Med launch renal cell carcinoma drug trial

AstraZeneca and Chi-Med have announced the launch of a new clinical trial assessing the safety and efficacy of a new renal cell carcinoma therapy.

The phase III registration study will evaluate the performance of savolitinib, a highly selective inhibitor of the c-MET receptor tyrosine kinase, in c-MET-driven papillary renal cell carcinoma.

This is the first pivotal study ever conducted for this form of cancer, and will support product registration for the drug in the US and Europe.

With the launch of this trial, AstraZeneca will pay a $5 million (3.86 million pounds) milestone fee to Hutchison MediPharma, a 99.8 percent subsidiary of Chi-Med, under the terms of the licence and collaboration agreement signed in 2011.

Susan Galbraith, senior vice-president of IMED oncology at AstraZeneca, said: "The data building across our early development studies is encouraging, [showing] that savolitinib has the potential to be an important treatment option for c-MET-driven cancers including kidney, lung and gastric cancers."

The drug is being evaluated as a monotherapy and in combination with other targeted therapies, including Tagrisso, Iressa, Imfinzi and Taxotere.

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