Benzinga | May 10, 2021 06:48AM EDT

AstraZeneca, Daiichi Sankyo Partnered ADC Shows Promise In Hard-To-Treat Breast Cancer

* AstraZeneca Plc (NASDAQ: AZN) and Daiichi Sankyo (OCTMKTS: DSNKY) have announced an update from their second antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) program that is showing promise in hard-to-treat breast cancer.

* The ADC, datopotamab deruxtecan, posted a 43% response rate and five confirmed complete or partial responses among 21 patients with triple-negative breast cancer, according to cohort data from the TROPION-PanTumor01 Phase 1 study presented at the virtual ESMO Breast annual meeting 2021.

* The majority of those patients were treated with 6-mg doses of the drug, while two received an 8-mg high dose.

* Five confirmed complete (CR) or partial responses (PR) were also seen, with four additional CR/PRs awaiting confirmation at the time of data cutoff on January 8. A disease control rate of 95% was also observed.

* Meanwhile, the TNBC cohort reported zero cases of interstitial lung disease.

* The drug combines an antibody targeting TROP2 that's conjugated using a stable linker with a potent topoisomerase I inhibitor payload. It has a lower drug-to-antibody ratio that Daiichi suggests should both boost cell-killing activity and limit side effects.

* Price Action: AZN shares are trading 0.8% higher at $54.25 during the premarket session on the last check Monday, while DSNKY shares closed $25.86 on Friday