Bayer launches new treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer
“Regorafenib is an oral multi-kinase inhibitor that has been approved in more than 50 countries worldwide for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, adding an important treatment option in mCRC for doctors and their patients,” said BHC Pharmaceutical General Manager Jennifer Yong.
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals launched today Regorafenib (Stivarga) tablets for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) whose disease had progressed after failure with standard therapies.
Regorafenibis now available to patients in the Philippines as a new treatment option following its approval for mCRC in several countries worldwide, including the US and Japan.
“Colorectal cancer is one of the most prevalent cancer types for which there is a real unmet need for new treatment options. Currently people with early CRC can have surgery to remove the cancer, preceded or followed by radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy to prevent it from coming back. Yet for many people, their disease spreads to other parts of the body, dramatically reducing their chance of being cured,” said Prof. Eric Van Cutsem, Lead CORRECT investigator, University Hospital Gasthuisberg Leuven, Belgium.
Based on the results of the Phase III CORRECT (Colorectal cancer treated with regorafenib or placebo after failure of standard therapy) trial which was the basis of the approval of Regorafenib, Prof. Van Cutsem said: “The multi-targeted action of Regorafenib provides a new option in targeting mCRC.
In the CORRECT trial, Regorafenib significantly improved both overall and progression-free survival in this difficult-to-treat population. These data show that Regorafenib can provide new treatment option for patients with mCRC.
The full results from the CORRECT study were presented at the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in June 2012 and published in November, 2012 in The Lancet.
About Colorectal Cancer
CRC is the third most common cancer worldwide, with over one million cases occurring every year. The five-year survival estimate for CRC on average is 55 percent, but is highly variable dependent on the stage of the disease (from 74 percent for patients with Stage I disease to only 6 percent for Stage IV patients).
About Regorafenib
Regorafenib is an oral multi-kinase inhibitor that inhibits various kinases within the mechanisms involved in tumor growth and progression – angiogenesis, oncogenesis and the tumor microenvironment. In preclinical studies, Stivarga inhibits several angiogenic VEGF receptor tyrosine kinases that play a role in tumor neoangiogenesis (the growth of new blood vessels). It also inhibits various oncogenic and tumor microenvironment kinases including VEGFR 1-3, KIT, RET, PDGFR, and FGFR, which individually and collectively impact upon tumor growth, formation of a stromal microenvironment and disease progression.
Rigorafenib is a Bayer compound developed by Bayer and jointly promoted by Bayer and Onyx in the USA. In 2011, Bayer entered into an agreement with Onyx, under which Onyx receives a royalty on all global net sales of regorafenib in oncology.
About Oncology at Bayer
Bayer is committed to delivering Science For ABetter Life by advancing a portfolio of innovative treatments. The oncology franchise at Bayer now includes three oncology products and several other compounds in various stages of clinical development. Together, these products reflect the company’s approach to research, which prioritizes targets and pathways with the potential to impact the way that cancer is treated.
About Bayer HealthCare
The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of EUR 18.6 billion (2012), is one of the world’s leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Medical Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. Bayer HealthCare’s aim is to discover, develop, manufacture and market products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Bayer HealthCare has a global workforce of 54,900 employees (Dec 31, 2012) and is represented in more than 100 countries. More information at www.healthcare.bayer.com.
