Boehringer Ingelheim to present new data on BIBW 2992 for NSCLC and head-and-neck cancer at ASCO 2010

Boehringer Ingelheim will present promising new data on non-small cell lung cancer as well as head-and-neck cancer for its leading investigational compound BIBW 2992 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago, June 4-8, 2010.

New data on BIBW 2992 reaffirms its significant anti-tumour activity in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with EGFR mutations. The data from the LUX-Lung 2 trial shows that:

- The majority of patients (61 per cent) with common EGFR mutations showed tumour shrinkage (measured as partial response) when treated with BIBW 2992 as assessed by independent review. - Patients with common mutations taking BIBW 2992 have a long time to progression (median of approximately 14 months) and a long survival (median of 2 years).

"The results seen with BIBW 2992 are promising, and could one day offer patients and doctors a new option to treat non-small cell lung cancer," says Dr. Vera Hirsh, Chair, Lung Cancer Committee, McGill University. "Unlike other treatments in its class, BIBW 2992 works differently by irreversibly binding to EGFR and HER2 receptors and may be effective against tumour growth mechanisms that aren't targeted by first generation, reversible EGFR therapy. BIBW 2992 is part of an exciting new trend in personalized medicine, where treatment is individualized based on each patient's tumour characteristics."

In another study, BIBW 2992 was shown to shrink tumours in 22 per cent of patients with head-and-neck cancer (measured as partial response), compared to 13 per cent of those receiving cetuximab.

BIBW 2992 is a next generation small molecule targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR/HER1) and human epidermal receptor 2 (HER2) receptor tyrosine kinase.