Raludotatug deruxtecan

TOKYO, Japan & BASKING RIDGE, NJ, USA I June 23, 2025 I DATROWAY ® (datopotamab deruxtecan-dlnk) has been approved in the U.S. for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have received prior EGFR-directed therapy and platinum-based chemotherapy. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on objective response rate (ORR) and duration of response (DoR). Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trial. DATROWAY is a specifically engineered TROP2 directed DXd antibody drug conjugate (ADC) discovered by Daiichi Sankyo (TSE: 4568) and being jointly developed and commercialized by Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN). The approval follows Priority Review and Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on subgroup results from the TROPION-Lung05 phase 2 and TROPION-Lung01 phase 3 trials. In TROPION-Lung05 and TROPION-Lung01, DATROWAY demonstrated a confirmed ORR of 45% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 35-54) in patients (n=114) with previously treated locally advanced or metastatic EGFR-mutated NSCLC as assessed by blinded independent central review (BICR). Complete responses were seen in 4.4% of patients and partial responses were seen in 40% of patients. The median DoR was 6.5 months (95% CI: 4.2-8.4). “Addressing disease progression in patients with advanced EGFR-mutated lung cancer after prior targeted therapy and chemotherapy is very challenging with limited later-line treatment options available,” said Jacob Sands, MD, Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and investigator for TROPION-Lung05 and TROPION-Lung01. “The U.S. approval of datopotamab deruxtecan introduces a novel and needed treatment option to patients with advanced disease.” “For people with advanced EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer whose disease progresses on initial treatments, additional options are limited,” said Andrea E. Ferris, President and CEO, LUNGevity. “Today’s approval of DATROWAY offers a new treatment option for patients whose disease has progressed following treatment with an EGFR-directed therapy and chemotherapy.” The safety of DATROWAY (6 mg/kg) was evaluated in a pooled analysis of 125 patients with locally advanced or metastatic EGFR-mutated NSCLC who received DATROWAY in the TROPION-Lung05, TROPION-Lung01 and TROPION-PanTumor01 trials. The most common (≥20%) adverse reactions, including laboratory abnormalities, were stomatitis, nausea, alopecia, fatigue, decreased hemoglobin, decreased lymphocytes, constipation, increased calcium, increased aspartate aminotransferase, decreased white blood cell count, increased lactate dehydrogenase, musculoskeletal pain, decreased appetite, increased alanine aminotransferase and rash. Serious adverse reactions occurred in 26% of patients who received DATROWAY. Serious adverse reactions in more than 1% who received DATROWAY included COVID-19, stomatitis and pneumonia. “With today’s accelerated approval, DATROWAY is now the first TROP2 directed medicine available for certain patients in the U.S. living with lung cancer,” said Ken Keller, Global Head of Oncology Business, and President and CEO, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. “We remain committed to our extensive clinical development program to further identify where DATROWAY may be used in other types of lung and breast cancer.” “This first approval of DATROWAY in lung cancer provides a much-needed option to patients with advanced EGFR-mutated lung cancer whose disease has become resistant to past treatments, regardless of the driving mutation,” said Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President, Oncology Hematology Business Unit, AstraZeneca. “We have long supported patients with EGFR-mutated lung cancer and are proud to bring another innovative treatment option to this community.” Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca are evaluating DATROWAY alone and/or with osimertinib, AstraZeneca’s EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in other advanced or metastatic EGFR-mutated NSCLC settings in the TROPION-Lung14 and TROPION-Lung15 phase 3 trials. Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca are committed to ensuring that patients in the U.S. who are prescribed DATROWAY can access the medication and receive necessary financial support. Provider and patient support, reimbursement and distribution for DATROWAY in the U.S. will be accessible by visiting DATROWAY4U.com or calling 1-855-DATRO4U (1-855-328-7648). Please visit www.DATROWAY.com for full Prescribing Information , including the Medication Guide . Financial Considerations Following approval in the U.S., an amount of $45 million is due from AstraZeneca to Daiichi Sankyo as a milestone payment for the locally advanced or metastatic EGFR-mutated NSCLC indication. Sales of DATROWAY in the U.S. are recognized by Daiichi Sankyo. For further details on the financial arrangements, please consult the collaboration agreement from July 2020 . About TROPION-Lung05 TROPION-Lung05 is a global, multicenter, single-arm, open-label phase 2 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of DATROWAY in patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC with actionable genomic alterations who have progressed on at least one line of targeted therapy and on or after one regimen of platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients receiving up to four prior lines of treatment with tumors with one or more genomic alterations including EGFR, ALK, ROS1, NTRK, BRAF, RET or MET were eligible for the trial. The primary trial endpoint of TROPION-Lung05 is ORR as assessed by BICR. Secondary efficacy endpoints include DoR, disease control rate (DCR), clinical benefit rate, PFS, time to response (TTR), OS and safety. Primary results from TROPION-Lung05 were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology . TROPION-Lung05 enrolled 137 patients globally in Asia, Europe and North America. For more information, visit ClinicalTrials.gov . About TROPION-Lung01 TROPION-Lung01 is a global, randomized, multicenter, open-label phase 3 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of DATROWAY versus docetaxel in adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC with and without actionable genomic alterations who require systemic therapy following prior treatment. Patients with actionable genomic alterations were previously treated with an approved targeted therapy and platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients without known actionable genomic alterations were previously treated, concurrently or sequentially, with platinum-based chemotherapy and a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor. The dual primary endpoints of TROPION-Lung01 are PFS as assessed by BICR and OS. Key secondary endpoints include investigator-assessed PFS, ORR, DoR, TTR, and DCR as assessed by both BICR and investigator, and safety. Primary PFS results and interim OS results from TROPION-Lung01 were presented at the 2023 ESMO (#ESMO23) Congress. Final OS results were presented at IASLC 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (#WCLC24) and simultaneously published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology . TROPION-Lung01 enrolled 590 patients in Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. For more information visit ClinicalTrials.gov . About TROPION-PanTumor01 TROPION-PanTumor01 is a first-in-human, open-label, two-part, multicenter phase 1 trial evaluating the safety and preliminary efficacy of DATROWAY in patients with advanced solid tumors that have relapsed or are refractory to standard treatment or for which no standard treatment is available. The dose escalation portion of the trial enrolled patients with NSCLC to assess the safety and tolerability of DATROWAY to determine the recommended dose for expansion (6 mg/kg). The dose expansion part of TROPION-PanTumor01 enrolled several different cohorts including patients with NSCLC, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), HR positive, HER2 negative breast cancer, small cell lung cancer, urothelial, gastric, pancreatic, castration resistant prostate and esophageal cancer. Safety endpoints include dose-limiting toxicities and serious adverse events. Efficacy endpoints include ORR, DoR, TTR, PFS and OS. Pharmacokinetic, biomarker and immunogenicity endpoints also are being evaluated. TROPION-PanTumor01 enrolled 890 patients in Asia and North America. For more information, visit ClinicalTrials.gov . About Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Nearly 2.5 million lung cancer cases were diagnosed globally in 2022. 1 Lung cancer is broadly split into small or NSCLC, with NSCLC accounting for about 87% of cases. 2 Approximately 10% to 15% of patients with NSCLC in the U.S. and Europe, and 30% to 40% of patients in Asia have an EGFR mutation. 3,4 The majority of EGFR mutations occur in tumors of nonsquamous histology. 5 TROP2 is a protein broadly expressed in the majority of NSCLC tumors. 6 For patients with tumors that have an EGFR mutation, the established first-line treatment in the metastatic setting includes EGFR-directed therapy with or without platinum-based chemotherapy. 7 While these therapies have improved outcomes in earlier lines of treatment, most patients eventually experience disease progression and receive subsequent therapies. 8,9,10,11 About DATROWAY DATROWAY (datopotamab deruxtecan; datopotamab deruxtecan-dlnk in the U.S. only) is a TROP2 directed ADC. Designed using Daiichi Sankyo’s proprietary DXd ADC Technology, DATROWAY is one of six DXd ADCs in the oncology pipeline of Daiichi Sankyo, and one of the most advanced programs in AstraZeneca’s ADC scientific platform. DATROWAY is comprised of a humanized anti-TROP2 IgG1 monoclonal antibody, developed in collaboration with Sapporo Medical University, attached to a number of topoisomerase I inhibitor payloads (an exatecan derivative, DXd) via tetrapeptide-based cleavable linkers. DATROWAY (6 mg/kg) is approved in more than 30 countries worldwide for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HR positive, HER2 negative (IHC 0, IHC 1+ or IHC 2+/ISH-) breast cancer who have received prior endocrine-based therapy and chemotherapy for unresectable or metastatic disease based on the results from the TROPION-Breast01 trial. DATROWAY (6 mg/kg) is approved in Russia and the U.S. for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic EGFR-mutated NSCLC who have received prior EGFR-directed therapy and platinum-based chemotherapy based on the results from the TROPION-Lung05 and TROPION-Lung01 trials. Continued approval for this indication in the U.S. may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trial. About the DATROWAY Clinical Development Program A comprehensive global clinical development program is underway with more than 20 trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of DATROWAY across multiple cancers, including NSCLC, TNBC and HR positive, HER2 negative breast cancer. The program includes eight phase 3 trials in lung cancer and five phase 3 trials in breast cancer evaluating DATROWAY as a monotherapy and in combination with other anticancer treatments in various settings. About the Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca Collaboration Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca entered into a global collaboration to jointly develop and commercialize ENHERTU ® in March 2019 and DATROWAY in July 2020 , except in Japan where Daiichi Sankyo maintains exclusive rights for each ADC. Daiichi Sankyo is responsible for the manufacturing and supply of ENHERTU and DATROWAY. About the ADC Portfolio of Daiichi Sankyo The Daiichi Sankyo ADC portfolio consists of seven ADCs in clinical development crafted from two distinct ADC technology platforms discovered in-house by Daiichi Sankyo. The ADC platform furthest in clinical development is Daiichi Sankyo’s DXd ADC Technology where each ADC consists of a monoclonal antibody attached to a number of topoisomerase I inhibitor payloads (an exatecan derivative, DXd) via tetrapeptide-based cleavable linkers. The DXd ADC portfolio currently consists of ENHERTU, a HER2 directed ADC, and DATROWAY, a TROP2 directed ADC, which are being jointly developed and commercialized globally with AstraZeneca. Patritumab deruxtecan (HER3-DXd), a HER3 directed ADC, ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd), a B7-H3 directed ADC, and raludotatug deruxtecan (R-DXd), a CDH6 directed ADC, are being jointly developed and commercialized globally with Merck & Co., Inc, Rahway, NJ, USA. DS-3939, a TA-MUC1 directed ADC, is being developed by Daiichi Sankyo. The second Daiichi Sankyo ADC platform consists of a monoclonal antibody attached to a modified pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) payload. DS-9606, a CLDN6 directed PBD ADC, is the first of several planned ADCs in clinical development utilizing this platform. Ifinatamab deruxtecan, patritumab deruxtecan, raludotatug deruxtecan, DS-3939 and DS-9606 are investigational medicines that have not been approved for any indication in any country. Safety and efficacy have not been established. Please see accompanying full Prescribing Information , including WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS, and Medication Guide . About Daiichi Sankyo Daiichi Sankyo is an innovative global healthcare company contributing to the sustainable development of society that discovers, develops and delivers new standards of care to enrich the quality of life around the world. With more than 120 years of experience, Daiichi Sankyo leverages its world-class science and technology to create new modalities and innovative medicines for people with cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases with high unmet medical need. For more information, please visit www.daiichisankyo.com . References 1 World Health Organization. Global Cancer Observatory: Lung . Accessed June 2025. 2 American Cancer Society. Key Statistics for Lung Cancer . Accessed June 2025. 3 Szumera-Ciećkiewicz A, et al. Int J Clin Exp Pathol . 2013;6(12): 2800-2812. 4 Ellison G, et al. J Clin Pathol . 2013;66(2):79-89. 5 Prabhakar C. Translational Lung Cancer Research . 2015;4(2), 110-118. 6 Mito R, et al. Pathol Int . 2020;70(5):287-294. 7 American Cancer Society. Targeted Drug Therapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer . Accessed June 2025. 8 Chen R, et al. J Hematol Oncol . 2020:13(1):58. 9 Majeed U, et al. J Hematol Oncol . 2021;14(1):108. 10 Morgillo F, et al. ESMO Open . 2016;1:e000060. 11 Han B, et al. Onco Targets Ther . 2018;11:2121-9. SOURCE: Daiichi Sankyo

BASKING RIDGE, NJ & RAHWAY, NJ, USA I June 18, 2025 I The first patient has been dosed in the IDeate-Prostate01 phase 3 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of investigational ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd) versus docetaxel in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) with disease progression during or after treatment with an androgen receptor pathway inhibitor. Ifinatamab deruxtecan is a specifically engineered, potential first-in-class B7-H3 directed DXd antibody drug conjugate (ADC) discovered by Daiichi Sankyo (TSE: 4568) and being jointly developed by Daiichi Sankyo and Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada. While localized prostate cancer has a five-year survival rate of more than 90%, survival decreases to 31% in the advanced or metastatic stage. 1 Current standard of care for patients with mCRPC includes treatment with androgen receptor pathway inhibitors followed by taxane-based chemotherapy. 2-5 However, due to poor prognosis associated with previously treated mCRPC, many patients do not receive subsequent therapy, reinforcing the need for new approaches to improve outcomes. 6 “Despite the emergence of new therapies, the current treatment landscape for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer is challenging, and there is a need for new treatments,” said Mark Rutstein, MD, Head, Therapeutic Area Oncology Development, Daiichi Sankyo. “Following the promising results seen in our earlier phase trial, IDeate-Prostate01 has been initiated to evaluate whether ifinatamab deruxtecan may replace standard taxane-based chemotherapy as a potential treatment strategy in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer with disease progression during or after treatment with androgen receptor pathway inhibitors.” “IDeate-Prostate01 marks the initiation of the third pivotal trial in the ifinatamab deruxtecan development program and reinforces our commitment to addressing critical unmet needs for patients,” said Marjorie Green, MD, Senior Vice President and Head of Oncology, Global Clinical Development, Merck Research Laboratories. “Our continued progress in the exploration of this potential first-in-class B7-H3 antibody drug conjugate in collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo, speaks to our pursuit of novel science in the hopes of making a difference for patients in need of new options.” The initiation of IDeate-Prostate01 is based on results from the IDeate-PanTumor01 phase 1/2 trial previously presented at the 2022 and 2023 European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congresses where ifinatamab deruxtecan showed promising responses in heavily pretreated patients with mCRPC. About the IDeate-Prostate01 Trial IDeate-Prostate01 is a multicenter, open-label, randomized phase 3 trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of ifinatamab deruxtecan (12 mg/kg) versus docetaxel (75 mg/m 2 ) plus corticosteroid in patients with mCRPC. Eligible patients must have received prior treatment with one or two androgen receptor pathway inhibitors and experienced disease progression during or after at least eight weeks of treatment. The dual primary endpoints of IDeate-Prostate01 are overall survival and radiographic progression-free survival. Secondary endpoints include objective response rate, time to first subsequent therapy, duration of response, time to pain progression, time to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression, PSA response, time to first symptomatic skeletal-related event and safety. IDeate-Prostate01 will enroll approximately 1,440 patients across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania. For more information, please visit ClinicalTrials.gov . About Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, and the fifth leading cause of cancer death in men worldwide. 7 Nearly 1.5 million prostate cancer cases were diagnosed in 2022, with approximately 400,000 deaths globally. 7 While localized prostate cancer has a five-year survival rate of more than 90%, survival decreases to 31% in advanced or metastatic stage. 1 Approximately 10% to 20% of early-stage prostate cancer cases progress to metastatic disease within five years of treatment on hormonal therapies such as androgen deprivation therapy. 8,9 Current standard of care for patients with mCRPC includes treatment with androgen receptor pathway inhibitors followed by taxane-based chemotherapy. However, due to poor prognosis associated with previously treated mCRPC, many patients do not receive subsequent therapy, reinforcing the need for new approaches to improve outcomes. 6 About B7-H3 B7-H3 is a transmembrane protein that belongs to the B7 family of proteins, which bind to the CD28 family of receptors that includes PD-1. 10,11 B7-H3 is overexpressed in a wide range of cancer types, including mCRPC and its overexpression has been shown to correlate with poor prognosis, making B7-H3 a promising therapeutic target. 12-15 There are currently no B7-H3 directed medicines approved for the treatment of any cancer. About Ifinatamab Deruxtecan Ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd) is an investigational potential first-in-class B7-H3 directed ADC. Designed using Daiichi Sankyo’s proprietary DXd ADC Technology, ifinatamab deruxtecan is comprised of a humanized anti-B7-H3 IgG1 monoclonal antibody attached to a number of topoisomerase I inhibitor payloads (an exatecan derivative, DXd) via tetrapeptide-based cleavable linkers. Ifinatamab deruxtecan has been granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, European Commission, Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and Taiwan Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of small cell lung cancer. About the Ifinatamab Deruxtecan Clinical Development Program A comprehensive global clinical development program is underway evaluating the efficacy and safety of ifinatamab deruxtecan across multiple B7-H3 targetable cancers. Trials in combination with other anticancer treatments also are underway. About the Daiichi Sankyo and Merck Collaboration Daiichi Sankyo and Merck entered into a global collaboration in October 2023 to jointly develop and commercialize patritumab deruxtecan (HER3-DXd), ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd) and raludotatug deruxtecan (R-DXd), except in Japan where Daiichi Sankyo will maintain exclusive rights. Daiichi Sankyo will be solely responsible for manufacturing and supply. In August 2024 , the global co-development and co-commercialization agreement was expanded to include gocatamig (MK-6070/DS3280), which the companies will jointly develop and commercialize worldwide, except in Japan where Merck will maintain exclusive rights. Merck will be solely responsible for manufacturing and supply for gocatamig. About the ADC Portfolio of Daiichi Sankyo The Daiichi Sankyo ADC portfolio consists of seven ADCs in clinical development crafted from two distinct ADC technology platforms discovered in-house by Daiichi Sankyo. The ADC platform furthest in clinical development is Daiichi Sankyo’s DXd ADC Technology where each ADC consists of a monoclonal antibody attached to a number of topoisomerase I inhibitor payloads (an exatecan derivative, DXd) via tetrapeptide-based cleavable linkers. The DXd ADC portfolio currently consists of ENHERTU ® , a HER2 directed ADC, and DATROWAY ® , a TROP2 directed ADC, which are being jointly developed and commercialized globally with AstraZeneca. Patritumab deruxtecan (HER3-DXd), a HER3 directed ADC, ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd), a B7-H3 directed ADC, and raludotatug deruxtecan (R-DXd), a CDH6 directed ADC, are being jointly developed and commercialized globally with Merck & Co., Inc, Rahway, NJ, USA. DS-3939, a TA-MUC1 directed ADC, is being developed by Daiichi Sankyo. The second consists of a monoclonal antibody attached to a modified pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) payload. DS-9606, a CLDN6 directed PBD ADC, is the first of several planned ADCs in clinical development utilizing this platform. Ifinatamab deruxtecan, patritumab deruxtecan, raludotatug deruxtecan, DS-3939 and DS-9606 are investigational medicines that have not been approved for any indication in any country. Safety and efficacy have not been established. About Daiichi Sankyo Daiichi Sankyo is an innovative global healthcare company contributing to the sustainable development of society that discovers, develops and delivers new standards of care to enrich the quality of life around the world. With more than 120 years of experience, Daiichi Sankyo leverages its world-class science and technology to create new modalities and innovative medicines for people with cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases with high unmet medical needs. For more information, please visit www.daiichisankyo.com . Merck’s Focus on Cancer Every day, we follow the science as we work to discover innovations that can help patients, no matter what stage of cancer they have. As a leading oncology company, we are pursuing research where scientific opportunity and medical need converge, underpinned by our diverse pipeline of more than 25 novel mechanisms. With one of the largest clinical development programs across more than 30 tumor types, we strive to advance breakthrough science that will shape the future of oncology. By addressing barriers to clinical trial participation, screening and treatment, we work with urgency to reduce disparities and help ensure patients have access to high-quality cancer care. Our unwavering commitment is what will bring us closer to our goal of bringing life to more patients with cancer. For more information, visit https://www-merck-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/research/oncology . About Merck At Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, we are unified around our purpose: We use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than 130 years, we have brought hope to humanity through the development of important medicines and vaccines. We aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world – and today, we are at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. We foster a diverse and inclusive global workforce and operate responsibly every day to enable a safe, sustainable and healthy future for all people and communities. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on X (formerly Twitter) , Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and LinkedIn . References: SOURCE: Merck