There were more than three million new cancer cases and over two million cancer deaths between 1993 and 2006, in Asia, with projections suggesting that new cancer cases in Asia will increase by almost 60 percent to 7.1 million new cases a year by 2020. More needs to be done in the battle against cancer.

Bayer HealthCare presented results from two pivotal phase III studies at the 48^th congress of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago during June, showcasing its promising oncology pipeline. The results showed that the investigational compounds alpharadin (radium-223 dichloride) and regorafenib both met the pre-specified primary endpoints and demonstrated significant results that offer new hope for cancer patients.

Combating colorectal cancer

The phase III colorectal cancer treated with regorafenib or placebo after failure of standard therapy (CORRECT) trial evaluated regorafenib plus best supportive care (BSC) versus placebo plus BSC in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), in patients in whom the disease has progressed after currently approved standard therapies. The study results showed that regorafenib significantly improved both overall survival and progression-free survival, as compared to placebo. In addition, new data from CORRECT, presented at ASCO, showed that this significant survival benefit was maintained across nearly all the subgroups that were analyzed.

Subsequent to this data being presented, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted priority review to the new drug application (NDA) filed at the end of April 2012 for the oral multi-kinase inhibitor, regorafenib, for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), whose disease has progressed after approved standard therapies. The FDA grants priority review to medicines that offer major advances in care or that provide a treatment, where no adequate therapy exists.