Johnson & Johnson (J&J) announced on Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a groundbreaking chemotherapy-free treatment regimen for certain types of lung cancer. This new approach involves the combination of Rybrevant and Lazcluze, marking the first chemotherapy-free treatment to outperform the current standard of care in clinical trials. The combination demonstrated a reduction in the risk of disease progression or death by up to 30% in a Phase 3 trial, compared to osimertinib (Tagrisso), the prevailing treatment option.
Jill Feldman, co-founder of EGFR Resisters, a patient advocacy group and a lung cancer survivor, emphasized the significance of this development: “Having witnessed firsthand the remarkable evolution in lung cancer treatment, this profoundly important milestone brings a novel therapeutic approach to patients and their families.”
In addition to this approval, Johnson & Johnson announced its acquisition of V-Wave, a privately held company specializing in heart failure treatments. The acquisition involves an upfront payment of $600 million, with potential additional payments of up to $1.1 billion contingent upon regulatory approvals and commercial milestones, bringing the total potential value of the deal to $1.7 billion. This acquisition reflects J&J’s commitment to addressing critical unmet needs in heart failure treatment.
Tim Schmid, Chairman of Johnson & Johnson MedTech, stated, “We recognize the importance of identifying more diverse and effective treatments for heart failure. Our recent track record underscores our focus on accelerating our impact on the most urgent and pressing unmet needs.” V-Wave will be integrated into Schmid’s group, continuing J&J’s strategic expansion in the cardiovascular sector.
J&J’s stock rose by 0.4% to $160.34 on Tuesday afternoon, marking a 2% increase for the year to date.
Read More: Click Here
