PharmaMar presented data from a Phase II trial evaluating PharmaMar's lurbinectedin in combination with irinotecan in patients with relapsed Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) after prior platinum-based treatment at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting, which took place from 31st May to 4th June in Chicago, United States. PharmaMar has a unique technological platform: the sea. Since 1986, it has been researching the marine ecosystem to discover innovative therapeutic alternatives for serious diseases, such as cancer, for this purpose it has invested more than EUR 1 billion since its foundation.

After reaching patients all over the world and changing the paradigm of sarcoma treatment, in addition to having three therapies commercially available, it is currently working to improve the lives of patients with Small Cell Lung Cancer, the most aggressive type of lung cancer. Regarding this disease, the results presented by the company at ASCO show that the combination of its drug for this pathology, Zepzelca® (lurbinectedin), in combination with irinotecan produces a synergy that enhances the activity of lurbinectedin, resulting in high and durable response rates in populations that are sensitive, with a chemotherapy-free interval greater than 90 days (CTFI> 90 days), and platinum-resistant with a chemotherapy-free interval of less than 90 days (CTF< 90 days). Particularly encouraging are the data drawn from the subgroup of 74 patients with a chemotherapy-free interval greater than 30 days (CTFI>30 days) with a response rate of 52.7% and a median response duration of 7.6 months.

Among the study data within this subgroup, the overall survival (OS) data is also encouraging, with a median of 12.7 months. The safety profile has proven to be manageable with a low percentage of treatment interruptions. Zepzelca® (lurbinectedin) is a synthetic compound derived from the tunicate Ecteinascidia turbinata found by PharmaMar in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea.

It is approved in 16 territories around the world. It received FDA accelerated approval in 2020 and has become the standard of care for second-line treatment in the United States. Confirmatory trials are currently underway, which may eventually lead to approval in Europe as well.

One of the confirmatory studies, LAGOON, consists of three arms, one of which is lurbinectedin with irinotecan. The results presented at ASCO reinforce the rationale for including this combination as an experimental arm with this type of patient in this ongoing pivotal trial.