The results of the study conducted across 536 patients in six years clearly show that Nimotuzumab will benefit a large number of head and neck cancer patients in India
Dr Kumar Prabhash, Head, Solid Unit, Medical Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH), Mumbai, presented the results of a study with Biocon’s novel biologic molecule Nimotuzumab at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting held in Chicago from June 1-5, 2018.
Biocon is the first company in India to have developed and launched a novel biologic, imotuzumab for the treatment of head and neck cancers in India. The positive results from a large study are a significant milestone in Biocon’s ongoing efforts to establish Nimotuzumab’s ‘best-in-class’ status for the treatment of one of the most common forms of cancer in the country.
The results of the study conducted across 536 patients in six years clearly show that Nimotuzumab will benefit a large number of head and neck cancer patients in India. Nimotuzumab in combination with chemoradiotherapy will provide an alternative therapeutic option and access to medical practitioners against locally advanced head and neck cancer. This combination successfully met the primary criteria of ensuring progression free survival which was three times more than the standard/traditional cancer care. Patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer in India will now have access to new therapeutic option that provides superior efficacy over the traditional/ standard of care. The results also showed that the addition of Nimotuzumab to chemoradiotherapy improved the locoregional control rate, disease free survival and had a trend towards improvement in overall survival.
This study that highlights the success of the new therapeutic option in the armamentarium against LASHNC could be practice changing for the medical fraternity and life changing for the patients and their families.