Novocure (NASDAQ: NVCR), which develops and sells a treatment using electric fields for various types of cancer, and Zai Lab Limited (Nasdaq: ZLAB; HKEX: 9688) have announced good results in a trial of Novocure’s Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) together with standard therapies for stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Novocure is one of the most successful biomed companies to have come out of Israel Its products are already sold for the treatment of glioblastoma, a cancer of the brain, and malignant pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the lungs. The market for the indication in its most recent trial is substantially larger than for these two.
Following the announcement, Novocure’s share price shot up 55% on Thursday, although it fell back somewhat on Friday, by 8.22%, giving a market cap of $11.44 billion.
"The LUNAR study showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival when patients were treated with TTFields and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), as compared to those treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors alone, and a positive trend in overall survival when patients were treated with TTFields and docetaxel versus docetaxel alone," the announcement said.
Full results of the trial are due to be released at a forthcoming medical conference. The company plans to file for marketing approval in the US and Europe in the second half of 2023.
Some 193,000 people are diagnosed with NSCLC in the US every year, accounting for 85% of all lung cancer cases. It is estimated that approximately 46,000 patients receive second-line treatment for stage 4 NSCLC, and this is the stage at which Novocure’s treatment comes in. The hope is that in the future it will be shown that the treatment is effective for this cancer at earlier stages as well, and even become a first line treatment.
Electric fields technology that facilitates focused prevention of cancerous cell division should be relevant to many types of cancer, and every success by Novocure in treating an additional type strengthens the hope that this is indeed a technology with wide application and that it is suitable for cancers for which there is currently no treatment. The company is engaged in trials for the use of its technology to treat cancers of the ovaries, liver, stomach, and pancreas.
"We are pleased with the positive readout of the LUNAR study. Prior to LUNAR, the last phase 3 trial to lead to significant improvement in overall survival in late-stage, platinum-resistant non-small cell lung cancer was six years ago, underlining the difficulty in treating this disease," said William Doyle, Novocure’s executive chairman. "We are also pleased by the profound performance of the TTFields together with immunotherapy, which has the potential to meaningfully extend patient survival beyond what was previously possible."
"We are excited about the potential of TTFields to address the unmet medical needs of lung cancer patients around the world. In China, lung cancer is the most common cancer type with approximately 700,000 new NSCLC cases diagnosed each year," said Dr. Samantha Du, Founder, chairperson, and CEO of Zai Lab. "We are pleased to contribute and be a part of the LUNAR study and this partnership is yet another great example of how collaboration benefits everyone."
Novocure is headquartered in Root, Switzerland, and has regional operating centers in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Tokyo, and a research center in Haifa.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 8, 2023.
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