In this article, Johnson & Johnson announced on Tuesday that its lung cancer treatment extends survival by at least a year compared to AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso, the primary drug for a specific type of lung cancer. J&J stated that its medications, Rybrevant and Lazcluze, demonstrated a significant improvement in survival compared to Tagrisso in a crucial trial. The company anticipates the survival benefit to be a minimum of one year, with the possibility of it being longer, as per J&J executives during an interview. The full results will be disclosed at a medical conference later this year.
Biljana Naumovic, President of U.S. Oncology Solid Tumor at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, expressed, “This is a significant breakthrough. People were anticipating a difference in overall survival.” J&J aims to replace AstraZeneca’s successful Tagrisso, a daily pill that has revolutionized the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer with EGFR mutations, increasing median survival to approximately three years. These genetic mutations lead to the rapid growth of cancer cells and are found in 10% to 15% of lung cancer cases in the U.S., according to the American Lung Association.
J&J executives view this outcome as a game-changer that could revolutionize the treatment of this form of lung cancer. However, Dr. Stephen Liu, Director of Thoracic Oncology and Head of Developmental Therapeutics at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, mentioned that not all doctors and patients may switch to using Rybrevant and Lazcluze due to the regimen’s increased side effects and the need for regular infusions. Liu believes that the news of improved survival rates will prompt a closer examination.
He intends to identify which patients benefit the most to provide more aggressive treatment while avoiding unnecessary treatment for those less likely to respond. Rybrevant and Lazcluze may cause skin rashes and nail splitting. Similar to Tagrisso, J&J’s treatment blocks the EGFR protein to inhibit cancer cell growth and targets MET, a pathway commonly used by cancer to resist drugs.
J&J predicts that annual sales of Rybrevant and Lazcluze could exceed $5 billion, whereas AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso generated around $6 billion in sales in 2023.
