EAST HANOVER, N.J., Dec. 10, 2024
EAST HANOVER, N.J., Dec. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Novartis today announced results from an updated analysis of the pivotal Phase III NATALEE trial of Kisqali® (ribociclib) that underscore the extended efficacy beyond the duration of treatment in combination with endocrine therapy (ET). Results showed a sustained reduction in distant recurrence of 28.5% (HR=0.715; 95% CI 0.604-0.847; nominal P<0.0001), compared to ET alone, in patients with stage II and III hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HR+/HER2-) early breast cancer (EBC)1.
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Reduction in distant recurrence, known as distant disease-free survival (DDFS), is a decrease in the rate of cancer returning and spreading to other organs. The DDFS with Kisqali was consistent across all pre-specified patient subgroups, including those with node-negative (N0) disease1. These late-breaking data are being presented at the 2024 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS).
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"In day-to-day practice, we see a real and persistent risk of breast cancer coming back after early diagnosis, often as metastatic disease," said Paolo Tarantino, M.D., Advanced Fellow at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. "The latest NATALEE and real-world data presented at SABCS reaffirm we can better address risk of recurrence for all patients at high-risk, including selected patients with node-negative disease, by offering them adjuvant CDK4/6 inhibitor treatment in addition to endocrine therapy."
DDFS results across pre-specified subgroups1,4**:
Subgroup
Hazard Ratio
95% CI
Intention-To-Treat Population
0.715
0.604-0.847
AJCC Tumor Stage IIA
0.396
0.218-0.720
AJCC Tumor Stage IIB
0.806
0.524-1.238
AJCC Tumor Stage IIIA
0.697
0.524-0.926
AJCC Tumor Stage IIIB
0.569
0.326-0.994
AJCC Tumor Stage IIIC
0.878
0.649-1.188
Node-negative disease
0.696
0.403-1.204
Node-positive disease
0.726
0.608-0.867
Safety remains consistent with previous reports, and no new safety signals were identified5. Adverse events (AEs) of special interest (grade 3 or higher) were neutropenia (44.4%), liver-related AEs (e.g., elevated transaminases) (8.6%), and QT interval prolongation (1.0%)5.
Real-World Risk of Distant Recurrence Further, real-world evidence presented at the meeting highlights the relatively high incidence of distant recurrences within 5 years despite ET monotherapy for patients at high-risk, regardless of nodal involvement2.
"On the heels of its U.S. FDA and EMA approvals in early breast cancer, it is encouraging to see the continued benefit of adding Kisqali to standard endocrine therapy to help reduce the risk of recurrence," said Jeff Legos, Executive Vice President, Global Head of Oncology Development, Novartis. "These data, together with the recent NCCN Guidelines® Category 1 preferred treatment recommendation for all eligible patients with early breast cancer, reinforce the opportunity to evolve adjuvant treatment to help a broader group of people."
Additional research presented at the meeting further demonstrates the ongoing focus of Novartis to advance the care of people with breast cancer, including studies investigating the potential of radioligand therapies in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC)6.
*NCCN makes no warranties of any kind whatsoever regarding their content, use or application and disclaims any responsibility for their application or use in any way.
**The 4-year DDFS analysis was not prespecified and the trial was not powered to demonstrate statistical significance of these results.
About NATALEENATALEE is a global Phase III multi-center, randomized, open-label trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Kisqali with ET as an investigational adjuvant treatment versus ET alone in patients with stage II and III HR+/HER2- EBC, being conducted in collaboration with TRIO7,8. The adjuvant ET in both treatment arms was a non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor (NSAI; anastrozole or letrozole) and goserelin if applicable7,8. The primary endpoint of NATALEE is invasive disease-free survival (iDFS) as defined by the Standardized Definitions for Efficacy End Points (STEEP) criteria7,8. A total of 5,101 adult patients with HR+/HER2- EBC across 20 countries were randomized in the trial7,8.
About Kisqali® (ribociclib)Kisqali® (ribociclib) is a selective cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, a class of drugs that help slow the progression of cancer by inhibiting two proteins called cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4/6). These proteins, when over-activated, can enable cancer cells to grow and divide too quickly. Targeting CDK4/6 with enhanced precision may play a role in ensuring that cancer cells do not continue to replicate uncontrollably.
Kisqali has been approved as a treatment for breast cancer by regulatory authorities in 99 countries worldwide, including the U.S. FDA and the European Commission9,10. In the US, Kisqali is indicated in combination with an AI as an adjuvant treatment for adults with HR+/HER2- stage II and III early breast cancer at high risk of recurrence, as well as for the treatment of adults with HR+/HER2- advanced or MBC as initial ET; Kisqali is also approved in the metastatic indication in combination with fulvestrant as initial ET or following disease progression on ET in post-menopausal women or in men9.
In EBC, ribociclib (Kisqali) is the only CDK4/6 inhibitor recommended by the NCCN Guidelines® for breast cancer for both all node-positive disease as well as for patients with no nodal involvement with high-risk disease characteristics, such as tumor size >5 cm, or for tumors sized 2-5 cm, either Grade 2 with high genomic risk/Ki-67 =20% or Grade 33. In MBC, Kisqali has consistently demonstrated statistically significant overall survival benefit across three Phase III trials11-21. The NCCN Guidelines® also recommend ribociclib (Kisqali) as the only Category 1 preferred CDK4/6 inhibitor for first-line treatment of people living with HR+/HER2- when combined with an AI3, making Kisqali the preferred first-line treatment of choice for US prescribers in HR+/HER2- MBC.
Kisqali was developed by Novartis under a research collaboration with Astex Pharmaceuticals.
Please see full Prescribing Information for Kisqali, available at www.Kisqali.com.
About Novartis in Breast CancerFor more than 30 years, Novartis has been at the forefront of driving scientific advancements for people touched by breast cancer and improving clinical practice in collaboration with the global community. With one of the most comprehensive breast cancer portfolios and pipeline, Novartis leads the industry in discovery of new therapies and combinations in HR+/HER2- breast cancer, the most common form of the disease.
Indication
What is KISQALI?
KISQALI® (ribociclib) is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer:
It is not known if KISQALI is safe and effective in children.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
KISQALI may cause serious side effects, including:
Lung problems. KISQALI may cause severe or life-threatening inflammation of the lungs during treatment that may lead to death. Tell your health care provider right away if you have any new or worsening symptoms, including:
Severe skin reactions. Tell your health care provider or get medical help right away if you get severe rash or rash that keeps getting worse; reddened skin; flu-like symptoms; skin pain or burning, blistering of the lips, eyes, or mouth, blisters on the skin or skin peeling, with or without fever.
Heart rhythm problems (QT prolongation). KISQALI can cause a heart problem known as QT prolongation. This condition can cause an abnormal heartbeat and may lead to death.
Liver problems. KISQALI can cause serious liver problems. Your health care provider should do blood tests to check your liver before and during treatment with KISQALI. Tell your health care provider right away if you get any of the following signs and symptoms of liver problems:
Low white blood cell counts (neutropenia). Low white blood cell counts are very common during treatment with KISQALI and may result in infections that may be severe. Your health care provider should check your white blood cell counts before and during treatment with KISQALI. Tell your health care provider right away if you have signs and symptoms of low white blood cell counts or infections, such as fever and chills.
Your health care provider may tell you to decrease your dose, temporarily stop, or completely stop taking KISQALI if you develop certain serious side effects during treatment with KISQALI.
What should I tell my health care provider before taking KISQALI?
Before you take KISQALI, tell your health care provider if you:
Tell your health care provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. KISQALI and other medicines may affect each other, causing side effects. Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of them to show your health care provider or pharmacist when you get a new medicine.
What should I avoid while taking KISQALI?
Avoid eating grapefruit and avoid drinking grapefruit juice during treatment with KISQALI since these may increase the amount of KISQALI in your blood.
The most common side effects of KISQALI in people with early breast cancer include:
The most common side effects of KISQALI in people with advanced or metastatic breast cancer include:
KISQALI may cause fertility problems in males, which may affect your ability to father a child. Talk to your health care provider if this is a concern for you.
Tell your health care provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.
These are not all the possible side effects of KISQALI. For more information, ask your health care provider or pharmacist. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please see accompanying full Prescribing Information including Patient Information.
DisclaimerThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "may," "could," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this media update, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this media update will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this media update as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this media update as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
About NovartisNovartis is an innovative medicines company. Every day, we work to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people's lives so that patients, healthcare professionals and societies are empowered in the face of serious disease. Our medicines reach more than 250 million people worldwide.
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References
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Novartis Media RelationsE-mail: [email protected]
North AmericaMichael Meo +1 862 274 5414
Novartis Investor RelationsE-mail: [email protected]
North AmericaSloan Simpson +1 862 345 4440Jonathan Graham +1 201 602 9921Parag Mahanti +1 973 876 4912
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SOURCE Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
