GSK announces ‘encouraging’ clinical activity of immunotherapeutic

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced the results of a phase II clinical study of its innovative Mage-A3 antigen-specific cancer immunotherapeutic (ASCI) in patients that are Mage-A3 positive in stages IB or II of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

According to the trial analysis presented earlier this week at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Asco), patients administered with the compound exhibited a 27 per cent reduction in relative risk of cancer recurrence compared to those receiving placebo.

Following the presentation of this data, GSK has announced that it has initiated patient enrolment in a phase III clinical trial assessing the safety and efficacy of the immunotherapeutic, with the study set to include approximately 2,270 patients with completely resected NSCLC at stage IB, II or IIIA who are Mage-A3 positive.

Paul A Bunn Jr, professor of medicine and director of the University of Colorado Cancer Centre, said: “Final results from this trial confirm the positive interim results released last year at Asco 2006, and support expanded testing of this novel cancer immunotherapy.”

He added that this approach to cancer marked a potentially significant shift in the field of oncology, with the possibility of further advances with the phase III clinical trial and further in the future.

Last month, GSK announced that the regulatory authorities in Switzerland had granted the first European marketing approval for its orally-administered breast cancer treatment Tyverb (lapatinib).