Novocure (NSDQ:NVCR) said today it enrolled the 1st patient in the phase 3 pivotal Lunar trial of its Tumor Treating Field technology for treating patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who have failed platinum-based therapy.
The prospective, randomized 512-patient trial from the St. Helier, N.J.-based company aims to test the safety and efficacy of its TTFields technology in combination with standard of care treatments of immune checkpoint inhibitors or docetaxel.
“The start of Lunar, our second ongoing phase 3 trial beyond glioblastoma, further demonstrates our commitment to testing TTFields across a variety of solid tumor cancers and bringing our therapy to patients who may benefit from it. We believe that treatment with TTFields is bigger than one cancer type. We are developing a profoundly different approach to cancer therapy that has the potential to improve the lives of people affected by a range of solid tumor cancers,” CEO Asaf Danziger said in a prepared statement.
The trial will include patients with stage IIIB and IV NSCLC of all histologies, with a primary endpoint of superior overall survival when treated with the combined therapies versus the standard of care alone. The trial will also test non-inferiority in overall patinet survival, the company said.
“We designed this trial to test TTFields with two of the currently available standard of care treatments for advanced NSCLC following failure of platinum-based therapy, opening the trial to more patients with this disease. We are excited about the potential of TTFields for the treatment of advanced NSCLC, and we are pleased to start this pivotal trial,” chief science officer and R&D head Dr. Eilon Kirson said in a press release.
