Combination Therapy Improves Progression-free Survival in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Copanlisib (Aliqopa) in combination with rituximab (Rituxan) prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma who relapsed following 1 or more previous lines of rituximab-based therapy, meeting the primary end point of the phase 3 CHRONOS-3 trial (NCT02367040).¹ Additionally, the safety profile of the combination proved to be consistent with findings on the individual agents that had previously been published; no new safety signals were reported.

The data from the trial will be presented at an upcoming medical meeting. Bayer Pharmaceuticals also announced that they will be discussing the findings from CHRONOS-3 with health authorities on a global scale.

“Indolent forms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma are a heterogenous group of malignancies characterized by a chronic pattern of remissions and recurrences. For [patients with] indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma with disease progression who are in need of treatment, there are few approved treatment options,” said Scott Z. Fields, MD, senior vice president and head of Oncology Development at Bayer.1 “The positive results from CHRONOS-3 demonstrate the potential clinical benefit of copanlisib in combination with rituximab, to address the unmet medical need in these patients.”

In the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial, investigators examined whether copanlisib plus rituximab would result in superior prolongation of PFS compared with placebo plus rituximab patients with relapsed non-Hodgkin lymphoma who received 1 or more lines of previous rituximab-based therapy.

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