Bill Doyle
Analyst · Tao Levy from Wedbush. Your line is open
Thank you, Ashley, and good morning everyone. Novocure continues to implement a simple two-pronged strategy which should sound familiar to everyone on this call. We are focused on driving commercial adoption of Optune for the treatment of glioblastoma, and we are committed to developing TTFields for a variety of other solid tumors. We made significant progress on both fronts in the first quarter of 2017. Earlier this month, at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, Professor Roger Stupp presented the final analyses of our EF-14 Phase III pivotal trial of Optune in combination with temozolomide for patients with newly diagnosed GBM. The final analyses included the full 695 patient data set with a median follow-up of 40 months from randomization. Consistent with earlier analyses of EF-14 data, combining Optune with temozolomide demonstrated unprecedented long-term survival rates. Patients treated with Optune plus temozolomide experienced significantly greater one-year, two-year, three-year, four-year, and five-year survival rates. At years four and five, the survival rates for patients treated with Optune plus temozolomide were more than double the survival rates of patients treated with temozolomide alone. Consistent with prior EF-14 analyses, these data confirmed an overall survival benefit for patients using Optune across all patient subgroups, including both young and elderly patients, patients with methylated and unmethylated MGMT promoter status, and patients with any tumor resection status. Prior to the introduction of temozolomide over a decade ago, the majority of GBM patients died within one year of diagnosis and five-year survival was essentially absent. Now, with the combination of Optune and temozolomide, median overall survival is more than two years from diagnosis and one out of seven patients is living longer than five years. These data further support our belief that Optune plus temozolomide is an essential combination treatment for patients with newly diagnosed GBM. Our presence at AACR extended beyond GBM. TTFields were highlighted in 24 abstracts investigating their application across five different tumor types. 17 of these abstracts included external lead authors, indicating a growing interest in TTFields at institutions unaffiliated with Novocure. Preclinical studies investigated, among other topics, the synergistic effects of TTFields in combination with PD-1 inhibitors, the synergistic effects of TTFields in combination with radiation, the effect of TTFields on T-cell responses, and the ability of TTFields to down-regulate the BRCA1 pathway. The growing body of preclinical and clinical research continues to confirm our belief that the mechanism of action of TTFields can be broadly applicable across multiple solid tumor types. Highlighted among the clinical abstracts were results from our Phase II pilot trials in pancreatic and ovarian cancers. In 20 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer treated with TTFields in combination with nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine, median progression-free survival was 12.7 months, compared to 5.5 months in nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine historical controls. Median overall survival was not yet reached. Median one-year survival was 72% compared to 35% in historical controls. 40% of the evaluable tumors had partial responses, and another 47% had stable disease. Patients reported no serious adverse events related to TTFields. We are finalizing the protocol for a Phase III pivotal trial studying TTFields in combination with nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine as a first-line treatment for locally advanced nonresectable pancreatic cancer and anticipate first patient in by the end of 2017. In 30 patients with recurrent ovarian cancer treated with TTFields in accommodation with weekly paclitaxel, median progression free survival was 8.9 months compared to 3.9 months in paclitaxel-alone historical controls. Median overall survival was not yet reached and median one-year survival was 61%. Two cases of severe skin irritation due to TTFields were reported with no other serious device related adverse events. Based on these Phase II pilot trial results, we are developing the trial design for a Phase III pivotal trial in recurrent ovarian cancer. Also during the first quarter of 2017, we announced the last patient in in our Phase II pilot trial investigating TTFields in combination with standard of care chemotherapy in patients with previously untreated mesothelioma. I will remind everyone that interim data from this open-label trial was presented at IASLC in December. In the first 42-patient cohort, one-year survival rates for patients treated with TTFields combined with pemetrexed and cisplatin, or carboplatin, were more than 50% greater than historical controls. We anticipate data readout for the full 80 patients in 2018. We have two ongoing Phase III pilot trial programs, the METIS trial in brain metastases, and the LUNAR trial in non-small cell lung cancer. We are encouraged by recent promising clinical results and continue to believe that our profoundly different approach to cancer treatment may improve the lives of patients battling some of the most aggressive forms of solid tumor cancers. I will now hand the call over to Asaf for a bit more color on our commercial performance during the quarter.