An early-stage clinical trial of a radiopharmaceutical drug developed by Johnson & Johnson showed some signs of efficacy in prostate cancer patients, newly released data show, but four participants in the trial died.
The drug, JNJ-6420, is designed to treat metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer by delivering radioactive isotopes directly to cancer cells. Interest in such radiopharmaceuticals has skyrocketed following the approval of Pluvicto, which also treats prostate cancer.
In the Phase 1 data reported ahead of the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting next week, 18% of participants on a mid-level dose of Johnson & Johnson’s treatment had a complete or partial response. For comparison, approximately 29.8% of the subjects in a Phase 3 trial of Pluvicto responded to the treatment.
