Novartis study shows Afinitor’s breast cancer benefits

Novartis has published new data from a phase III clinical trial that demonstrates the benefits its drug Afinitor can offer to advanced breast cancer patients.

The Bolero-2 study, which involved 724 patients across almost 190 global sites, evaluated the everolimus-based therapy plus exemestane among women with postmenopausal ER-positive breast cancer, compared to placebo.

It was found that Novartis' drug was able to more than double the rate of progression-free survival and significantly reduced the risk of the disease developing further.

Data from this study will be used by the company to support worldwide regulatory submissions for the drug in this specification, which are planned before the end of 2011.

Herve Hoppenot, president of Novartis Oncology, said: "The magnitude of benefit seen in these patients, despite their resistance to previous hormonal therapies, shows everolimus represents a potentially important new treatment approach."

This comes after Afinitor was approved in Europe as a treatment for advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours earlier this month.