Johnson & Johnson lung cancer drug shows 34-month survival in phase 3 trial

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced final overall survival data from the Phase 3 PAPILLON study showing that its drug Rybrevant (amivantamab-vmjw) combined with carboplatin-pemetrexed chemotherapy produced a median overall survival of 34.3 months in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations, compared with 27.9 months for chemotherapy alone.

The results were presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer in Seoul, South Korea. The company claims this represents the longest reported median overall survival in this patient population, which historically has ranged from approximately 16 to 24 months, with a five-year survival rate of 8%.

The primary analysis showed a hazard ratio of 0.87 for overall survival, which did not reach statistical significance. A prespecified analysis that accounted for crossover — 76% of eligible patients in the chemotherapy arm received second-line Rybrevant after disease progression — showed a 43% reduction in the risk of death (hazard ratio 0.57; 95% CI, 0.39–0.82; nominal P=0.003).

Patients receiving the combination also showed extended progression-free survival through second disease progression of 28.3 months versus 17.5 months for chemotherapy alone. Twelve percent of patients in the combination arm remained on first-line treatment at the clinical cutoff, compared with none in the chemotherapy arm.

The most common treatment-related adverse events occurring in at least 30% of patients included paronychia (60%), neutropenia (60%), and rash (58%). Johnson & Johnson said no new safety signals were observed with longer follow-up.

EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations account for approximately 12% of all EGFR mutations. Rybrevant is a bispecific antibody targeting EGFR and MET and is currently approved for multiple EGFR-mutated NSCLC indications. The information is based on a press release issued by Johnson & Johnson.

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