27 June 2018 - - Suresnes, France-based international pharmaceutical company Servier and Japan-based research and development specialty pharmaceutical company Taiho Pharma, Ltd., subsidiary of Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd., have released clinical data from the phase III trial for Lonsurf which showed improvement in overall survival (OS) for the treatment of patients with refractory metastatic gastric cancer, the companies said.
The phase III multinational, randomized, double-blind study evaluated trifluridine and tipiracil plus best supportive care (BSC) versus placebo plus BSC in patients with metastatic gastric cancer refractory to standard treatments.
The median OS in patients treated with trifluridine/tipiracil was 5.7 months as compared to 3.6 months when treated with placebo, and they had a 31% risk reduction of death. At 12-months, OS rates were 21.2% in the trifluridine/tipiracil group and 13.0% in the placebo group. In addition, the risk for disease progression measured by progression free survival was reduced by 43%.
Servier, governed by a non-profit foundation, has an international presence in 148 countries and employs 21,000 people worldwide. Entirely independent, the group reinvests 25% of its turnover (excluding generic drugs) in research and development and uses all its profits for development in five areas: cardiovascular, immune-inflammatory, neuropsychiatric, cancers, and diabetes.
With multiple international facilities, Taiho Pharma, focuses on developing medications and treatments for oncology, allergy and immunology, and urology.