Roche reported that its experimental lung cancer drug divarasib helped patients live almost six months longer than two competing treatments in a late-stage study. The findings suggest the medication could become a preferred option for a specific type of non-small cell lung cancer driven by a KRAS G12C genetic mutation. According to Bloomberg News, the drug performed better than similar medicines from Amgen and Bristol Myers Squibb. Patients in the trial had cancers that had spread after other treatments, such as chemotherapy, failed to control the disease.
In separate news, Bristol Myers Squibb disclosed the death of one patient in an early trial testing an investigational CAR-T therapy for multiple sclerosis. STAT notes that the death adds to safety concerns regarding this growing field of research. The patient in the Phase 1 trial experienced motor symptoms that did not resolve with standard autoimmune treatments. Following this, the patient was administered a potent immunosuppressant and subsequently developed septic pneumonia, which led to death, according to a Bristol press release.
Bristol Myers Squibb later issued a statement indicating that the patient had been treated for a series of other complications before receiving the CAR-T therapy. The company stated that these prior treatments made it difficult to determine the root cause of the fatal issue. CAR-T therapy involves modifying a patient's own immune cells to target cancer or other diseases, though this specific application was being tested for an autoimmune condition.