Relay Therapeutics' combo therapy cuts breast cancer progression in early study (updated)

Relay Therapeutics

09/09/2024 14:57

(Adds shares in paragraph 1)
    By Mariam Sunny and Sneha  S K
       Sept 9 (Reuters) - Relay Therapeutics  RLAY.O  said on
Monday interim data from an early-stage study of its combination
drug for breast cancer showed it meaningfully extended the time
patients lived without the disease worsening, sending shares
surging about 37% in early trading.
    The main goal of the trial, which enrolled 118 heavily
pre-treated patients with PI3K mutant, advanced breast cancer,
was to test the safety and tolerability of the therapy.
    The treatment, RLY-2608, in combination with AstraZeneca's
 AZN.L  Faslodex, was generally well tolerated across all doses,
the company said.
    It helped 52 patients live for an average of 9.2 months
without the disease worsening after treatment.
    Astra's combination drug Truqap, approved for use in these
patients, had helped improve the time patients with gene-altered
tumors lived without their disease worsening by 7.3 months.
    Two patients out of 64, who received a 600 milligram dose of
the combination, discontinued the treatment due to related side
effects, including itching and nausea, while one experienced
severe hyperglycemia or high blood sugar.
    Breast cancer is the second-most common cancer and the
second-leading cause of cancer death among women in the U.S.,
according to American Cancer Society.
    The therapy selectively targets a type of protein called
PI3K, a mutation of which affects more than one in three people
with breast cancer in the U.S., according to the company.
    In 2019, Novartis'  NOVN.S  Piqray became the first approved
PI3K inhibitor.
    Piqray is "quite toxic and has a lot of side effects and
it's very poorly tolerated by patients", Guggenheim analyst
Michael Schmidt had said ahead of the interim data.
    "At the end of the day, we look for ... better safety and
better activity compared to, for example, drugs like Novartis'
Piqray," Schmidt said.
    If successful, Schmidt estimates U.S. peak sales of about
$1.5 billion for the drug in second-line treatment of breast
cancer.  
    Relay plans to start a late-stage trial for the combination
next year, pending regulatory discussions.

 (Reporting by Mariam Sunny and Sneha S K in Bengaluru; Editing
by Shilpi Majumdar)
 ((Mariam.ESunny@thomsonreuters.com;))