Merck, AstraZeneca Get Green Light for Advanced Ovarian Cancer Treatment

By Kimberly Chin

Merck & Co. and AstraZeneca PLC said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Lynparza, an ovarian cancer treatment in combination with another drug, as a first-line maintenance treatment for adults with an advanced stage of ovarian cancer.

The Phase 3 study of Lynparza in combination with bevacizumab has shown a reduced risk of the disease progressing or death by 67%. It improved progression-free survival to a median of 37.2 months compared with 17.7 months with the use of bevacizumab alone.

The patients who were tested have advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer and are in complete or partial response to a first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. Their cancer is also associated with homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) positive status, Merck said.

About one in two women with advanced ovarian cancer have an HRD-positive tumor, the company said.

The combination treatment is undergoing regulatory reviews in the European Union, Japan and other countries, Merck said.

Write to Kimberly Chin at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 08, 2020 18:22 ET (22:22 GMT)

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