The team behind the development of the lung cancer treatment Rybrevant®▼ (amivantamab) has been awarded Drug Discovery of the Year 2023, the British Pharmacological Society’s prestigious annual award.
Amivantamab blocks signals that grow cancer cells and also attracts immune cells to kill cancer cells. It is the first fully human bispecific antibody approved in lung cancer.
In the United Kingdom, amivantamab is indicated for treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) Exon 20 insertion mutations, whose disease has progressed on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.
Scientists at Janssen Research & Development, LLC, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, led the preclinical and clinical development of amivantamab. Janssen R&D and Genmab A/S co-discovered amivantamab.
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the world, and in the UK, it is the most common cause of cancer death, with over 20% of all cancer deaths attributed to lung cancer.
The judging panel for Drug Discovery of the Year 2023 felt strongly that the impact of amivantamab on lung cancer made it a worthy winner of the prize.
Helen Tomkinson, Executive Director - Head of Integrated Bioanalysis at AstraZeneca and member of the awarding panel, said:
"The drug discovery of the year award is always a closely fought contest. This year was no exception. The winner, amivantamab, is a first in class agent which represents a massive step forward in the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer with EGFR exon 20 mutations. Previously there were no approved treatments available to directly target this specific genetic mutation.
"Congratulations to Janssen for this fantastic scientific development and major step forward in the treatment of cancer."
The team behind amivantamab will receive their award and present their work at the European Laboratory Research & Innovation Group’s conference Drug Discovery 2023, which will be held in Liverpool in October 2023.
Read more about the Drug Discovery of the Year award and its previous winners.