(AOF) – Pfizer today announced long-term follow-up results from the Phase 3 Crown trial evaluating its product Lorbrena (lorlatinib, available in Europe under the brand name Lorviqua) in people with cancer Previously untreated advanced non-small cell lung (NSCLC) disease positive for anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK). After five years of follow-up, there was an 81% reduction in the rate of disease progression or death compared to the Xalkori product.
Additionally, 60% of patients treated with Lorbrena were alive without disease progression after five years, compared to 8% in the Xalkori treatment arm.
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Oncology, priority of pharmaceutical giants
Sanofi’s stock market disappointment recorded at the end of October 2023 underlines the new direction for the group, which has now set oncology as its number 1 priority. Efforts in this segment, where therapies are advancing the fastest, notably involve investments in R&D which weigh on profitability. Sanofi therefore announced a drop in its earnings per share in 2024 and the abandonment of its objective of an operating margin of 32% in 2025. Merck has just unveiled a new alliance. It will pay up to $22 billion to the Japanese group Daiichi Sankyo as part of a partnership on experimental cancer treatments. While some experts estimate that the United States represents nearly half of global oncology spending (drugs and treatments), or $196 billion in 2022, Chinese spending in this area has more than doubled in five years, going from 5 to 11.8 billion dollars.