Roche's trastuzumab emtansine shows positive results in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer

Roche has announced results of EMILIA, the first randomised Phase III study of trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1). The study enrolled people with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who had previously received treatment with Herceptin® and a taxane (chemotherapy). The study showed people who received trastuzumab emtansine lived significantly longer without their disease getting worse compared to those who received lapatinib plus Xeloda® (capecitabine). Final results for overall survival, a co-primary efficacy endpoint of EMILIA, still need to be completed. The safety profile of trastuzumab emtansine was consistent with that seen in previous studies. Trastuzumab emtansine is an investigational medicine known as an antibody-drug conjugate. It is comprised of the antibody trastuzumab and the chemotherapy agent DM1 attached together using a stable linker and is designed to target and inhibit HER2 signaling and deliver the chemotherapy directly inside HER2-positive cancer cells.