Marine sponge-derived compound performed better than any other treatment of physician’s choice.
Phase III trial data suggests that Eisai’s anticancer candidate eribulin mesylate significantly boosts median overall survival in heavily pretreated patients with metastatic breast cancer. In comparison with patients receiving another treatment of physician’s choice, those treated using eribulin survived on average 2.5 months longer.
“To date, no single-agent Phase III clinical trial has demonstrated improved survival in women with heavily pretreated metastatic breast cancer,” stresses Chris Twelves, M.D., lead trial investigator and professor of clinical cancer pharmacology and oncology at the University of Leeds and St. James’s University Hospital in the U.K. “These results showed that eribulin significantly improved overall survival versus a variety of agents used in a real-world setting, which previously no single agent has shown.”
Data from the 762-patient EMBRACE study presented at ASCO also showed that eribulin therapy also significantly improved overall response rates. Eisai submitted the drug for regulatory review in the U.S., EU, and Japan on March 30.
The molecule is a synthetically produced nontaxane microtubule dynamics inhibitor derived from halichondrin B, a natural product isolated from the marine sponge Halichondria okadai.
