with the earlier trial, known as Ring, by combing through tissue samples and running molecular profiles of patients, Adams says. But based on these new results from the lung cancer study, the company plans to exclude patients with a mutated form of the EGFR protein that suggests they won’t benefit, Adams says.
One other key lesson from the lung cancer trial is to go with a lower dose. Researchers found that the maximum tolerated dose in the trial was 450 milligrams per meter squared of body volume, given for three weeks. A separate Infinity study of its drug in combination with docetaxel chemotherapy is ongoing, and is looking at a much lower dose of 300 milligrams per meter squared.
“We’ve re-thought the notion of treating at the maximum tolerated dose, and now we’re looking at the optimal biological dose,” Adams says.
Separating out patients on their EGFR genetic status shouldn’t put too much of a crimp on the company’s marketing plans. About 85 percent of lung cancer patients have the normal EGFR genetic profile, known as “wild-type,” Adams says.
Infinity has also fielded a lot of questions about the failed Ring study, and Adams didn’t try to duck the subject. But he said researchers and investors were pleased to something positive in the lung cancer data to balance the bad news from the previous trial in gastrointestinal stromal tumors.
“Ring is a blow, and I’m absolutely not happy about it, but we learned a lot from it about treating at too high of a dose and in too sick of a patient population,” Adams says.
