Astex Pharmaceuticals ‘proud’ as breast cancer drug discovered by AstraZeneca gets MHRA approval’
Targeted breast cancer drug capivasertib - brand name Truqap - has received MHRA approval in the UK.
AstraZeneca discovered Truqap subsequent to initial research by Astex Pharmaceuticals and the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR). AstraZeneca secured the UK approval following FDA approval in the US in November 2023, and approval in April by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
The go-ahead for AstraZeneca’s Truqap is subsequent to a collaboration with Astex Pharmaceuticals and its collaboration with the ICR and Cancer Research Technology Limited.
Dr Harren Jhoti, Astex’s CEO, said: “We are incredibly proud that our drug discovery partnerships have resulted in such a successful outcome, with MHRA approval for AstraZeneca’s Truqap - capivasertib - following earlier FDA and EMA approvals, bringing new options to breast cancer patients.
“The early discovery research was a great collaborative effort, and I would like to acknowledge the impressive pioneering research carried out by our colleagues at the ICR, including solving the 3D crystal structure of AKT, which was vital in enabling our initial drug discovery approach. This is also a great example of UK biotech-academia-pharma collaboration and underlines the strength of the UK life sciences ecosystem.”
The latest approval grants marketing authorisation for the use of capivasertib in combination with fulvestrant, which will be available to people in the UK with hormone receptor (HR) positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) negative breast cancer, with one or more PIK3CA, AKT1 or PTEN-alterations following recurrence or progression on or after standard treatments using an endocrine-based regimen.
Tumours with mutations or alterations in the PIK3CA, AKT1 or PTEN genes are found in approximately half of patients with this form of breast cancer.
The next step will be for NICE and other appraisal bodies to meet with the manufacturer to determine whether capivasertib will be made available on the NHS.
