Novartis' breast cancer drug cuts risk of death by 19% after six years, data shows

Novartis AG

Today 12:30

By Bhanvi Satija
LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis' NOVN.S drug Kisqali helped extend survival for women with a form of high-risk, early-stage breast cancer, cutting their risk of death by 19% after six years, according to trial data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology congress in Madrid on Friday.
At six years, 91.9% of women who received Kisqali and hormone therapy were alive compared with 89.7% of those who received hormone therapy alone 
The survival gap grew from 1.2 percentage points at five years to 2.1 points at six years.
The initial expectation was that it would take about 10 years of follow-up to show a survival difference. "Turns out we’re seeing a difference even sooner," said UCLA's Dennis Slamon, the trial's lead investigator 
Kisqali works by slowing cancer cells rather than killing them immediately. The longer cancer cells stay frozen, the more likely they are to permanently stop dividing and die
The drug is already approved in the US and EU for patients with stage 2 or 3 breast cancer at high risk of recurrence.
Analysts expect sales of the drug to be about $7 billion for this year, according to Visible Alpha estimates. 

 (Reporting by Bhanvi Satija;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
 ((Bhanvi.Satija@thomsonreuters.com; +44 7920644259;))