Seagen Inc has announced that the clinical trial of Tukysa (an anticancer drug that contains tucatinib) in combination with Kadcyla has met its primary objective. Patients involved in the trial had unresectable HER2-positive breast cancer, but had been treated with taxane and trastuzumab.
Tukysa was earlier approved in the USA and has been used in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine for patients with advanced Her2-positive breast cancer. The current successful trial is a boost to the company’s reputation which is about to be acquired by Pfizer Inc.
Kadcyla, is an antibody-drug conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine that is used to treat HER2-positive breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.
“We are encouraged by these results for TUKYSA in combination with Kadcyla®in metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, including in patients with brain metastases,” Seagen says.
The human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) or CD340, is a human protein on breast cells that controls how healthy breast cells grow, and repairs itself. However, in about 15-20% of breast cancers, the HER2 malfunctions, and causes HER2 gene amplification. This leads to over-expression of HER2 protein that makes the breast to grow uncontrollably.
Based on the Seagen trial, the successful combination of Tuksyla and Kadcyla will help to prolong the lives of HER2 positive breast cancer patients with minimal spread of the cancerous cells.
ASVEK Science & Tech 