The Phase 1/2 trial is planned to start in early 2015
Clovis Oncology and GlaxoSmithKline have entered into a clinical trial collaboration to evaluate a novel combination therapy targeting mutant epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The Phase 1/2 trial of rociletinib given in combination with trametinib is planned to start in early 2015. The trial is designed to assess the safety and activity of the combination in patients with EGFR mutant NSCLC who were previously treated with an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI).
"We have seen significant activity in EGFR mutant NSCLC patients treated with rociletinib monotherapy, and so an important next step in our research is to examine rociletinib in combination with other targeted therapies that may also impact acquired resistance to EGFR inhibitors," said Ms Lecia V Sequist, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the lead investigator for this combination study.
"As we continue to see compelling activity for rociletinib single-agent therapy at our selected dose, we look forward to exploring combination trials in both T790M-positive and T790M-negative patients," said Mr Patrick J Mahaffy, president and CEO, Clovis Oncology. He added, "We believe that given the tolerability profile of rociletinib, particularly its lack of cutaneous toxicity, it may be a good candidate for combination therapy with trametinib, and other relevant targeted therapies. We intend to announce additional combination studies over the next few months."
This clinical trial is designed to test the hypothesis that the combination of two oral drugs targeting different cellular growth pathways, both often active in EGFR mutant NSCLC, will lead to augmented clinical benefit.
