AstraZeneca and MSD have announced that the European Commission (EC) and the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare have approved Lynparza (olaparib) as a 1st-line maintenance treatment for women with BRCA-mutated advanced ovarian cancer.

The licensed indication is as a maintenance treatment of adult patients with advanced (FIGO stages III and IV) BRCA1/2-mutated (germline and/or somatic) high-grade epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer who are in response (complete or partial) following completion of 1st-line platinum-based chemotherapy.

“This approval sets the stage for a new standard of care in the EU for women with ovarian cancer and a BRCA mutation. The goals of front-line therapy have always been long-term remission and even cure, yet currently 70% of patients relapse within three years of initial treatment. The progression-free survival benefit of Lynparza observed in SOLO-1 represents a major step forward in our ambition to help transform patient outcomes,” said Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President, Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca.

Based on data from the Phase III SOLO-1 trial

The EC approval was based ondata from the pivotal Phase III SOLO-1 trial which tested Lynparza as maintenance monotherapy compared with placebo in patients with BRCAm advanced ovarian cancer following 1st-line platinum-based chemotherapy. Results announced in October 2018 at 40.7 months of follow-up showed the median time of progression for patients treated with Lynparza had not yet been reached vs. 13.8 months for those on placebo (HR 0.30 [95% CI, 0.23-0.41], p<0.001).

The third indication

This is the third indication for Lynparza in the EU. AstraZeneca and MSD are exploring additional trials in ovarian cancer, including the ongoing Phase III PAOLA-1 trial, which is testing Lynparza in combination with bevacizumab as a 1st-line maintenance treatment for women with newly-diagnosed, advanced, stage IIIB-IV high grade serous or endometrioid ovarian cancer, regardless of BRCA status.

Approval in Japan

Lynparza has also been approved in Japan as a maintenance treatment after 1st-line chemotherapy in patients with BRCA-mutated (BRCAm) advanced ovarian cancer, as detected by an approved companion diagnostic test.

The approval by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare was also based on data from the pivotal Phase III SOLO-1 trial which tested Lynparza as maintenance monotherapy compared with placebo in patients with BRCAm advanced ovarian cancer following 1st-line platinum-based chemotherapy.

The only PARP inhibitor approved in Japan

Lynparza is the only PARP inhibitor approved in Japan. AstraZeneca and MSD are exploring additional trials in ovarian cancer, including the ongoing Phase III PAOLA-1 trial, which is testingLynparzain combination with bevacizumab as a 1st-line maintenance treatment for women with newly-diagnosed, advanced, stage IIIB-IV high grade serous or endometrioid ovarian cancer, regardless of BRCA status.

The Japanese approval follows European Commission marketing authorisation announced in June 2019. Interactions with regulatory authorities in the rest of the world are ongoing.

Photo of David Fredrickson: AstraZeneca