Boehringer Ingelheim commences phase III trials for afatinib

Boehringer Ingelheim has commenced a pair of phase III clinical trials for afatinib to evaluate the drug's efficacy as a treatment for head and neck cancer.

The Lux-Head and Neck 1 and 2 trials will respectively assess the effectiveness of the therapy in patients with metastatic and recurrent head and neck cancer, and among sufferers of locally advanced disease.

Phase III trials are being launched after the treatment demonstrated comparable anti-tumour activity to cetuximab in phase II studies, making it the first targeted therapy to do so.

At present, there is a lack of available therapies for this disease, despite the high risk of recurrence associated with the condition.

Dr Ezra Cohen, associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Centre, said: "We hope potential new treatments such as afatinib will increase the effective options for patients with head and neck cancer."

Earlier this month, the company formed a new collaborative research alliance with Forma Therapeutics, which will focus on the development of new anti-cancer therapies.