Lilly Breast Cancer Combo Clears Key Study

March 20, 2017

Eli Lilly's combination of its experimental breast cancer drug abemaciclib along with anti-estrogen therapy fulvestrant has showed positive signs, slowing disease progression for relapsed patients and others whose anti-estrogen therapy was proving to be ineffective. The study compared combined use of as opposed to the use of fulvestrant alone. According to Lilly, the abemaciclib combination results in a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival.

Abemaciclib is in the same class of breast cancer treatments as Pfizer's Ibrance and Novartis's Kisqali, which recently secured U.S. approval. Lilly is also evaluating the drug as an alternative monotherapy and multiple studies are testing its effects in combination with other drugs. According to Lilly, it will submit applications for the drug in the second and third quarter--first as a monotherapy and then as a combo.

Read the Reuters report