Incyte Corp. announced promising Phase 2 preliminary results of a clinical trial for a drug that aims to treat a rare type of mutation in lung cancer.
Pharma giant Novartis sponsored the study. Results were announced at a conference in Europe.
Incyte shares were up 2.5 percent on the news.
Our expanding portfolio targets multiple tumor types with the goal of helping us serve a larger community of patients. #ESMO18
— Incyte (@Incyte) October 20, 2018
Non small cell is the most common type of lung cancer, impacting more than two million people per year. Approximately 3-4 percent of all patients with NSCLC have an identified MET mutation. While rare, this mutation is an indicator of an especially poor prognosis and there is currently no approved therapy designed to target this mutation, Incyte noted.
“We are very pleased to announce these promising, preliminary results for capmatinib, another investigational medicine invented at Incyte that has the potential to be the first MET-selective targeted agent approved by the FDA,” said Steven Stein, M.D., chief medical officer, Incyte. “We are encouraged by the results of this study and the potential for capmatinib to help patients with advanced MET mutated NSCLC, who face a poor prognosis and represent a clear unmet medical need.”
Capmatinib (INC280) is an investigational, oral and selective MET inhibitor invented at Incyte that was licensed to Novartis in 2009. Under the agreement, Incyte granted Novartis exclusive development and commercialization worldwide rights to this MET inhibitor compound and certain back-up compounds in all indications.
Novartis has stated that it expects to submit a new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for capmatinib as a treatment for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring MET amplification and/or mutations in 2019.
If capmatinib is successfully developed by Novartis, Incyte may become eligible for over $500 million in future milestones as well as royalties of between 12 percent and 14 percent on global sales by Novartis, Incyte noted.
Incyte and Norvartis have seen setbacks in their drug development pipelines.
The potential for blockbuster drugs that can treat millions of people has diminished, with efforts often focusing on smaller populations with rarer diseases or mutations of various forms of cancer.
Incyte still sees potential in its drug pipeline. Meanwhile, blockbuster drug Jakafi still being explored for wider uses beyond blood cancers and related diseases.
Incyte’s share price is down are down by 50 percent from its high in early 2017.
Incyte Corporation has its headquarters and research at a site just outside Wilmington. For additional information visit www.incyte.com.
