Eisai announces positive data from thyroid cancer drug trial

Eisai has announced new phase III clinical trial data that demonstrates the safety and efficacy of its new thyroid cancer drug lenvatinib.

The investigational selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor has been evaluated in the Select study, which enrolled 392 patients across more than 100 sites in Europe, North and South America and Asia.

It was shown that lenvatinib was associated with a highly statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival in patients with radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer, compared to placebo. It therefore met its primary endpoint in the study.

Based on these results, Eisai is now planning to submit marketing authorisation applications for lenvatinib to health authorities in Japan, the US and Europe.

A statement from the company said: "Eisai is committed to understanding the potential clinical benefits of lenvatinib in order to further contribute to patients with cancer, including patients with thyroid cancer and their families."

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy, with global figures showing its incidence has significantly increased over the last 50 years. Moreover, cancerous cells will return in an estimated five to 20 percent of people with a history of the disease.