AstraZeneca has reported a win in one of lung cancer’s tougher settings: patients whose EGFR-mutated tumors have stopped responding to its flagship drug.
In the Phase 3 SAFFRON trial, combining Tagrisso (osimertinib) with Hutchmed’s Orpathys (savolitinib) delayed disease progression or death and extended overall survival compared with chemotherapy. The combination was tested in EGFR-positive non-small cell lung cancer with a MET alteration, in patients whose disease had worsened after first- or second-line Tagrisso treatment.
Why MET matters
EGFR-mutated lung cancers often eventually escape targeted therapy, and one common escape route is amplification of a second driver called MET. Adding a MET inhibitor (savolitinib) to the EGFR inhibitor (osimertinib) aims to shut down both pathways at once — an all-oral, biomarker-directed approach that avoids chemotherapy.
Why it matters
Tagrisso is approved in major markets; Orpathys is approved in China and Switzerland, with AstraZeneca handling commercialization. “We aim to deliver the first biomarker-directed, all-oral option in this setting to patients across the globe,” said Susan Galbraith, AstraZeneca’s oncology R&D chief. The result strengthens the case for treating resistance with a precision combination rather than falling back on chemotherapy.