Pfizer pushing BRAF lung cancer mutation testing to grow market for Braftovi
By Michael Erman
NEW YORK, Sept 14 (Reuters) -Pfizer PFE.N is trying to increase doctor awareness of and testing for a rare lung cancer mutation to help boost use of its drug Braftovi, which the pharmaceutical maker anticipates could grow to become the standard of care.
The company presented three-year follow-up data from a Phase 2 study on Saturday looking at patients with BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic non-small cell lung cancer who received Braftovi and another Pfizer drug, Mektovi, as a first treatment. The study showed they had a median of over two-and-a-half years of progression-free survival, a measure of how long treated patients live before their cancer gets worse.
Chris Boshoff, Pfizer's Chief Oncology Officer, said the new data supports the use of the drug as standard of care for that group and said it expects to get market penetration of up to 60% in lung cancer patients with the mutation.
He said approximately 2% to 3% of lung cancers have the mutation in question.
Standard of care for such patients is currently an immunotherapy paired with chemotherapy, Boshoff said. The combination of Braftovi and Mektovi has been approved for patients with non-small cell lung cancer with the mutation since last year.
"All patients with lung cancer should be tested for BRAF mutations, and that could be done with a simple blood test," he said. "It's a relatively easy test to identify these patients who clearly would benefit significantly from having a targeted therapy."
He said that fewer than 50% of lung cancer patients in the U.S. are currently tested for the mutation. That number is even lower globally.
"This is a space where Pfizer is particularly well equipped, not just in the US, but globally, to encourage testing and to help educate physicians, pathologists, patients, and patient advocate groups," Boshoff said. He said the test is covered by insurance in the U.S.
Pfizer sold close to $400 million of Braftovi and Mektovi last year, but analysts are not currently forecasting significant growth for the drugs, according to LSEG data.
One area where Boshoff said Braftovi could expand its market is in colorectal cancer, where BRAF-mutated cancers make up 10% of the cancers. Data from the company's late-stage study in colorectal cancer is expected to be announced by the end of the year, he said.
Reporting by Michael Erman, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien
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