Biotech major Biocon Ltd on June 4 announced that a team led by Dr Kumar Prabhash, Head, Solid Unit, Medical Oncology from Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai presented the results of a study with novel biologic molecule Nimotuzumab at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting held in Chicago from June 1-5.

This 536- patient study was conducted by Dr Vanita Noronha, Dr. Amit Joshi, Dr. Vijay Patil, Dr. A. K. D’cruz, Dr. SarbaniLasker, Dr. J. P. Agarwal with Dr. Kumar Prabash as the lead investigator, over a period of 6 years. The study successfully met the primary endpoint of median progression free survival which was three times than that of standard of care, a company release said on June 4.

The investigator-initiated study, one of the largest random clinical studies on head and neck cancer patients in India, evaluated the efficacy and safety of administering Nimotuzumab during concurrent chemo-radiation in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LAHNSCC).

“We believe Nimotuzumab, will benefit a large number of head and neck cancer patients in India. Nimotuzumab with chemo-radiotherapy will provide an alternatetherapeutic option in the armamentarium against locally advanced head and neck cancer,” said Principal investigator, Dr Kumar Prabhash, Head, Solid Unit, Medical Oncology, TMH said.

“As the first company in India to successfully introduce a novel targeted anti-EGFR biologic,for the treatment of head and neck cancers in India, the positive results from this large randomised study are a significant milestone in Biocon’s ongoing efforts to establish Nimotuzumab’s‘best-in-class’ status for the treatment of one of the most common forms of cancer in the country,”said Suresh Subramanian, Senior Vice President& Head, Branded Formulations-India, Biocon. Nimotuzumab is the first indigenously produced novel biologic developed by Biocon and introduced in India as BIOMAb EGFR for head and neck cancer in 2006.