Summary
Johnson & Johnson’s Rybrevant shows comparable efficacy to AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso in advanced NSCLC, suggesting potential as an initial treatment option.
Johnson & Johnson reported positive results from a study testing its lung cancer drug called Rybrevant. The study compared Rybrevant to another lung cancer pill called Tagrisso, made by AstraZeneca.
The drugs were tested in people with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with mutations in a gene called EGFR. In the head-to-head study, the two drugs worked about equally well. After a year, around 75% of patients saw their tumors shrink or stop growing when taking Rybrevant. This was similar to Tagrisso. Rybrevant also showed it could reach and treat cancer in the brain about the same as Tagrisso. Rybrevant was approved by the FDA in 2021 as a second-line treatment after Tagrisso stops working. But this new study suggests it may also be used as an initial treatment option along with Tagrisso for advanced EGFR mutant lung cancer.
Researchers say having more effective options is important to help patients live longer.