A promising experimental treatment for breast cancer, developed by Pfizer and Arvinas, has shown significant results in delaying the progression of the disease. The treatment, called vepdegestrant, was tested in a clinical trial of 624 patients with a specific type of breast cancer that accounts for nearly 70% of all breast cancer cases. According to the results, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting and published in The New England Journal of Medicine, vepdegestrant delayed the progression of the disease by more than three months compared to AstraZeneca’s Faslodex in patients with a specific gene mutation.
The trial found that vepdegestrant increased survival without disease progression by five months in patients with ESR1 mutations, compared to about two months for Faslodex. In a larger group of patients, vepdegestrant increased survival by 3.8 months, compared to 3.6 months for Faslodex. These results are significant, as breast cancer accounts for about one-third of all new female cancers each year in the US.
Vepdegestrant belongs to a novel class of drugs called PROTAC ER degraders, which work by harnessing the body’s natural protein disposal system to target and degrade proteins that spur tumor growth. The treatment has a more convenient oral dosing compared to Faslodex, which is injected into a muscle. Analysts expect vepdegestrant to earn $576 million in peak sales in 2032, and it is seen as a potential competitor to existing treatments such as Eli Lilly’s Verzenio, Pfizer’s Ibrance, and Novartis’ Kisqali.
The study’s findings are a positive development in the fight against breast cancer, which is a major health concern for women. With further research and development, vepdegestrant may become a valuable treatment option for patients with advanced breast cancer. However, it’s worth noting that Arvinas has announced that it will not move forward with two other planned late-stage studies of the drug, citing earlier results that failed to show benefit in a larger set of patients. Nonetheless, the latest results suggest that vepdegestrant has the potential to make a significant impact in the treatment of breast cancer.