J&J's potential first-in-class radioligand therapy "elicited profound and durable biochemical and radiographic responses" in a phase 1 prostate cancer trial, but also resulted in four patient deaths.
The company shared oral abstract of data from the first-in-human 67-person study evaluating JNJ-6420 to treat patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer ahead of an upcoming ASCO presentation. The trial deaths were attributed to thrombocytopenia and interstitial lung disease, both associated with repeated dosing.
JNJ-6420 is a first-in-class anti-hK2 antibody–based targeted radiotherapy delivering 225Ac, a high-energy short-range alpha-particle emitter, to prostate cancer cells.
The news comes amid rising industry interest in therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals and a market predicted to reach $13 billion by 2030. Earlier this week, Eli Lilly inked a potential $1.16 billion deal with Boston-based biotech Aktis Oncology to develop innovative anticancer radiopharmaceuticals using Aktis’ proprietary miniprotein discovery platform.
