European Commission (EC) has granted marketing authorisation for sacituzumab govitecan, a first-in-class Trop-2-directed antibody-drug conjugate, as a monotherapy indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who have received two or more prior systemic therapies, at least one of them for advanced disease.

“The metastatic stage of TNBC is particularly challenging to treat and until now we have urgently needed new treatment options for people in Europe living with this condition,” said Dr Véronique Diéras, Senior Medical Oncologist Head, Breast Cancer Group, Department of Medical Oncology, Centre Eugène Marquis, Rennes, France.

“Today’s approval including second-line metastatic TNBC is significant for the community as it’s another important step forward in helping women with this disease live longer.”

TNBC is the most aggressive type of breast cancer and accounts for approximately 15% of all breast cancers.

It is more frequently diagnosed in younger and premenopausal women and is more prevalent in Black and Hispanic women.

The five-year survival rate for this sub-type of breast cancer is 12%, compared with 28% for other breast cancer types, and these poor outcomes are often coupled with a significant decrease in quality of life, especially in relapsed/refractory disease.

“At Gilead, we push boundaries to deliver transformative science and novel treatment options that address urgent medical needs,” said Merdad Parsey, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, Gilead Sciences.

“We understand how difficult metastatic TNBC is to treat and we’re proud that sacituzumab govitecan can now offer a second-line treatment option with the potential to bring longer life to people living with this aggressive disease.”

The EC’s decision is supported by results from the Phase 3 ASCENT study, which met its primary and secondary endpoints of progression-free survival and overall survival.

In addition to this approval, sacituzumab govitecan is approved in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Switzerland, and the United States in metastatic TNBC. Regulatory review is also underway in Singapore and China with applications submitted by Everest Medicines. Sacituzumab govitecan was also recently included in the updated ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines as a preferred treatment option for metastatic TNBC after taxanes.

Source: Gilead Sciences