Ovarian Cancer Study Suffers Big Setback

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 30, 3:16PM EST · Published Sep 30, 10:15AM EDT

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Ovarian Cancer Study Suffers Big Setback — © PRImageFactory / Getty Images

ImmunoGen Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN) has released data from its late-stage ovarian cancer study at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2019 Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Specifically, this data comes from the Phase 3 Forward study evaluating mirvetuximab soravtansine compared to chemotherapy in women.

The primary endpoint of this study was progression-free survival, which was assessed using the Hochberg procedure in the entire study population and in the subset of patients with high folate receptor alpha-positive expression.

In the entire study population, the confirmed overall response rate was higher for mirvetuximab than for chemotherapy (22% versus 12%), without a significant difference in the primary endpoint of progression-free survival or overall survival.

Mirvetuximab was well tolerated, with fewer patients experiencing grade 3 or greater treatment-emergent adverse events (46% versus 61%), fewer dose reductions (20% vs 31%), and fewer discontinuations due to drug-related treatment-emergent adverse events (5% versus 8%) compared with chemotherapy.

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Dr. Kathleen Moore, associate director of Clinical Research at the Stephenson Cancer Center at the University of Oklahoma, commented:

While it is disappointing that FORWARD I did not meet the primary endpoint of progression-free survival, mirvetuximab demonstrated consistent and meaningful efficacy signals in patients with high levels of FRα expression and was well tolerated with a differentiated safety profile in both the ITT and FRα high populations. Despite recently reported advances in frontline treatment with the addition of PARPi maintenance therapy, the majority of patients will unfortunately develop platinum-resistant disease with limited therapeutic options characterized by low response rates, short progression-free survival, and significant toxicities. The encouraging data from FORWARD I suggest the potential for a significant improvement over single-agent chemotherapy in the FRα high population and I look forward to the continued development of mirvetuximab for these patients in the upcoming Phase 3 study.

Shares of ImmunoGen were last seen down about 8% at $2.51, in a 52-week range of $1.76 to $9.84. The consensus price target is $4.67.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.