AstraZeneca plc (LON:AZN) and MSD’s Lynparza (olaparib) has been approved in the European Union (EU) as monotherapy or in combination with endocrine therapy for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients with germline BRCA1/2 mutations (gBRCAm), who have human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative high-risk early breast cancer previously treated with neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy.
This approval by the European Commission was based on results from the OlympiA Phase III trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine in June 2021 and follows the recommendation for approval in the EU by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of Lynparza in this setting.1 In the trial, Lynparza demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in invasive disease-free survival (iDFS), reducing the risk of invasive breast cancer recurrences, new cancers, or death by 42% versus placebo (based on a hazard ratio [HR] of 0.58; 99.5% confidence interval [CI] 0.41-0.82; p<0.0001).
Lynparza also demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival (OS), reducing the risk of death by 32% versus placebo (based on a HR of 0.68; 98.5% CI 0.47-0.97; p=0.009). The safety and tolerability profile of Lynparza in this trial was in line with that observed in prior clinical trials.
Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer worldwide with an estimated 2.3 million patients diagnosed in 2020.2 Approximately 90% of all breast cancer patients worldwide are diagnosed with early breast cancer and BRCA mutations are found in approximately 10% of HER2-negative patients in Europe.3-5
Professor Andrew Tutt, Global Chair of the OlympiA Phase III trial and Professor of Oncology at The Institute of Cancer Research, London and King’s College London, said: “Today’s approval marks a new era of care in Europe for patients with an inherited form of breast cancer. For patients with high-risk early-stage breast cancer, including those with germline BRCA mutations, recurrence rates remain unacceptably high, with more than one in four of these patients seeing their cancer return following surgery and systemic treatment. Olaparib is the first PARP inhibitor to demonstrate improved overall survival for high-risk early-stage breast cancer patients with germline BRCA mutations and I am hopeful it will become a new standard of care.”
Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President, Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca, said:
“With this approval, Lynparza is now the first and only PARP inhibitor available for patients with germline BRCA-mutated HER2-negative early breast cancer in Europe. We can now bring the benefits of Lynparza to this earlier setting to help reduce the risk of life-threatening recurrence.”
Dr Eliav Barr, Senior Vice President, Head of Global Clinical Development and Chief Medical Officer, MSD Research Laboratories, said: “Today’s approval offers patients with germline BRCA-mutated HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer a new, much-needed treatment option. Lynparza as adjuvant treatment can significantly reduce the risk of disease recurrence and death, reinforcing the importance of conducting germline BRCA testing as soon as possible after diagnosis.”
In March 2022, Lynparza was approved in the US for the treatment of gBRCAm, HER2-negative high-risk early breast cancer. Lynparza is also approved in the US, EU, Japan, and many other countries for the treatment of patients with gBRCAm, HER2-negative, metastatic breast cancer previously treated with chemotherapy based on results from the OlympiAD Phase III trial. In the EU, this indication also includes patients with locally advanced breast cancer.
