ASCO: Lilly debuts ‘strong’ bladder cancer data for potential Padcev challenger

Summary: Eli Lilly has a new drug for bladder cancer called LY4052031. Right now, a drug called Padcev is the top choice for treating this disease. Both drugs work by finding cancer cells using a specific target called Nectin-4. However, cancer can eventually get used to Padcev's medicine.

To fix this, Lilly's new drug uses the same Nectin-4 target but delivers a completely different type of medicine (called a topoisomerase I inhibitor) to attack the cancer. Early tests show it shrank tumors in 42% of patients. But there is a catch: a small group of people have genes that make it hard for their bodies to process the new medicine, which caused severe sickness and three deaths. Lilly is moving forward carefully with this drug into the next phase of testing, while dropping a second backup drug that didn't work as well.

For more details, see rssapp-fiercebiotech-com at fiercebiotech.com/biotech/asco-lilly-debuts-bladder-cancer-data-potential-padcev-challenger (opens in new tab)