Nuvalent’s Targeted Therapy Shows Promise for Advanced Lung Cancer Patients
BOSTON – A new targeted therapy developed by nuvalent demonstrated a 31% overall response rate in patients with ALK-positive (ALK+) non-small cell lung cancer whose disease had progressed despite prior treatment with other ALK inhibitors, the company announced today. The results, stemming from a clinical trial involving 253 patients, offer a potential new option for a challenging-to-treat population.
For patients with ALK+ lung cancer, initial treatments with ALK inhibitors are often highly effective. However, resistance inevitably develops, leaving limited therapeutic avenues.Nuvalent’s drug, neladalkib, is designed to overcome common resistance mechanisms by selectively targeting alterations of the ALK kinase. The trial data suggests neladalkib could provide durable responses in this patient group, with 64% of those who responded continuing to do so at 12 months and 53% at 18 months.
The Phase 1/2 trial followed patients with ALK+ lung cancer who had previously been treated with, and become resistant to, other ALK inhibitors. The overall response rate – defined as a tumor shrinkage of at least a third – was 31%. These findings underscore the potential of neladalkib to address a critical unmet need in advanced lung cancer treatment and offer renewed hope for patients facing limited options.
