AstraZeneca’s Cancer Combo Drug Has Late-Stage Setback

AstraZeneca reported disappointing results of a Phase III study of selumetinib in combination with dacarbazine for treating metastatic uveal melanoma. The study did not meet is primary endpoint of progression-free survival. This combination therapy showed an adverse event profile generally consistent with current knowledge of the safety profiles of dacarbazine and selumetinib. A full evaluation of the data is ongoing.

Selumetinib, licensed by AstraZeneca from Array BioPharma Inc. in 2003, inhibits the MEK enzyme in the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK pathway in cancer cells to prevent the tumor from growing. Selumetinib is in late-stage development, with a primary program in second-line KRAS-mutant advanced non-small cell lung cancer in combination with docetaxel. Selumetinib is also being investigated in a Phase III study in differentiated thyroid cancer and in a Phase II registration study in patients with neurofibromatosis Type 1.

Source: AstraZeneca

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