Nektar Announces Target-Specific Biomarkers Being Evaluated in Phase 3 BEACON Study of Etirinotecan Pegol

Nektar Therapeutics

announced today that it presented a series of target-specific biomarkers that are being evaluated in the development of etirinotecan pegol for the treatment of breast cancer.  Etirinotecan pegol is a unique, next generation, targeted topoisomerase I inhibitor currently in Phase 3 clinical development as a potential treatment for patients with locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer.  The BEACON (BrEAst Cancer Outcomes with NKTR-102) Phase 3 Study is a randomized, open-label, international study that is evaluating single agent etirinotecan pegol in patients who have previously received an anthracycline, a taxane and capecitabine (ATC) versus a comparator arm consisting of an active single agent treatment of physician's choice (TPC). "One of our objectives in treating metastatic breast cancer is to prospectively identify patients that will respond to specific treatments so they can achieve the optimal individualized care," said Hope Rugo, M.D., Director of Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education at the UCSF Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center and Member of the BEACON Study investigator steering committee. "The goal of evaluating these important biomarkers in patients enrolled into the BEACON study is to help us understand which breast cancer patients might have