FDA approves Tagrisso as first-line treatment for EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer

The approval is based on results from the Phase III FLAURA trial, which were presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology 2017 Congress.

AstraZeneca oncology business unit head  and executive president Dave Fredrickson said: “Today’s FDA approval of Tagrisso in the 1st-line setting is an exciting milestone for patients and our company.

“Tagrisso delivered unprecedented median progression-free survival data across all pre-specified patient subgroups, including patients with or without CNS metastases, and could prolong the lives of more patients without their tumours growing or spreading.”

FLAURA trial principal investigator Dr Suresh Ramalingam said: “The approval of osimertinib in the 1st-line setting represents a major advance in the treatment of patients with EGFR mutations and a significant change in the treatment paradigm.

“Osimertinib provides robust improvements in progression-free survival with no unexpected safety signals compared to the previous generation of EGFR inhibitors.”

The FLAURA trial compared Tagrisso to current 1st-line EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), erlotinib or gefitinib, in previously-untreated patients with locally-advanced or metastatic EGFR-mutated (EGFRm) NSCLC.

 Tagrisso met the primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS) (see table below). PFS results with Tagrisso were consistent across all pre-specified patient subgroups, including in patients with or without central nervous system (CNS) metastases. Overall survival data were not mature at the time of the final PFS analysis.

Safety data for Tagrisso in the FLAURA trial were in line with those observed in prior clinical trials. 

Tagrisso was generally well tolerated, with Grade 3 or higher adverse events (AEs) occurring in 34% of patients taking TAGRISSO and 45% in the comparator arm.

The most common adverse reactions (≥20%) in patients treated with Tagrisso were diarrhoea (58%), rash (58%), dry skin (36%), nail toxicity (35%), stomatitis (29%), fatigue (21%) and decreased appetite (20%).

Tagrisso (osimertinib) is a third-generation, irreversible EGFR-TKI designed to inhibit both EGFR-sensitising and EGFR T790M-resistance mutations, with clinical activity against CNS metastases. 

Tagrisso 40mg and 80mg once-daily oral tablets have been approved in the US and Brazil for 1st-line EGFRm advanced NSCLC, and in more than 75 countries including the US, EU, Japan and China for patients with EGFR T790M mutation-positive advanced NSCLC. Tagrisso is also being investigated in the adjuvant setting and in combination with other treatments.

Source: Company Press Release