Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) presented preliminary data from a mid-stage study of one of its pipeline candidates. NKTR-102 is being studied as a single agent in a two-stage phase II trial in advanced/metastatic breast cancer patients who have received a prior taxane.
About 85% of the 70 patients enrolled in the trial received treatment with anthracycline/taxane and with or without capecitabine. It was observed that 21% of the evaluable patients (14/66) responded to treatment with NKTR-102 with 18% (6/33) responding to every 14 days dose schedule and 24% (8/33) responding to the 21 days dose schedule. Secondary endpoints of the phase II study included progression-free survival and safety.
Apart from metastatic breast cancer, NKTR-102 is being evaluated in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (phase II), in patients with second-line colorectal cancer (phase II) and a phase I trial evaluating it in combination with 5-FU therapy.
Earlier this month, Nektar presented positive results from a phase II study at the annual meeting of American Society of Clinical Oncology. The study was conducted to evaluate single-agent NKTR-102 in patients with platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer.
Although NKTR-102 has a long way to go before successful commercialization, we believe there is huge unmet demand in the area of breast and ovarian cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 200,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed in 2009.
Although anthracyclines and taxanes are the most widely used chemotherapeutic agents for breast cancer, increased usage of these agents at an early stage of a disease often leads to drug resistance when the disease recurs, thereby reducing the number of treatment options for metastatic disease.
Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths among women, accounting for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. Although initial response rates to treatment with platinum-based agents are typically around 80%, recurrence rates are very high.
We are pleased to note that studies with NKTR-102 have provided encouraging results so far. As a result, this drug holds strong potential for the future growth of the company.
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