Ibrance, Breast Cancer drug impresses in latest study

Pfizer said the Phase 3 study, called Paloma 3, was halted after an independent data monitoring board determined that Ibrance, also known as palbociclib, had proven its effectiveness among patients with advanced disease who had previously been treated with anti-estrogen drugs. Data from the study will be presented at an upcoming medical meeting, the largest U.S. drugmaker said.
Patients taking Ibrance in combination with Faslodex (fulvestrant), a widely used treatment to block estrogen, were deemed to have fared better in terms of disease progression than those taking Faslodex alone.
The trial enrolled patients whose breast cancer was classified as estrogen-receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (ER+/HER2-).
Ibrance was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February for such patients, but only ones who had not previously been treated for advanced disease.
The accelerated approval was based on results of a study that showed Ibrance delayed progression of disease significantly longer than Femara(letrozole), a member of another class of breast cancer treatments called aromatase inhibitors.
Pfizer is conducting a large trial called Paloma-2, which it hopes will confirm the benefits of Ibrance as a first-line treatment, in combination with Femara.