AstraZeneca drug fails in lung cancer trial

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced results from the Phase III SELECT-1 trial of the MEK 1/2 inhibitor, selumetinib on Tuesday, in combination with docetaxel chemotherapy, as second-line treatment in patients with KRAS mutation-positive locally-advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

The FTSE 100 firm said the results showed that the trial did not meet its primary endpoint of progression-free survival, and selumetinib did not have a significant effect on overall survival.

AstraZeneca said the adverse event profiles for selumetinib and docetaxel were consistent with those seen previously.

“A randomised Phase II trial showed promising activity of selumetinib in combination with docetaxel in patients with KRAS mutation-positive lung cancer,” said

Sean Bohen, chief medical officer at AstraZeneca.

“It is disappointing for patients that these results have not been confirmed in Phase III."

Bohen said AstraZeneca expect to present the data at a forthcoming medical meeting.

“We remain committed to further developing treatments in the lung cancer setting, such as our immunotherapy combinations and targeted EGFR treatments."