AstraZeneca and Merck’s Lynparza Withdrawn for Specific Ovarian Cancer Population

AstraZeneca and Merck have withdrawn Lynparza (olaparib) for the treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer who have been treated with three or more prior lines of chemotherapy.

The decision was based on results from a phase 3 study that showed the drug’s detrimental effect on overall survival for treated patients compared with participants in the chemotherapy control arm.

In a letter to healthcare professionals, the companies instructed physicians not to initiate new Lynparza treatments in this patient population.

However, the blockbuster drug is still indicated as a maintenance treatment for certain other patient populations with ovarian cancer.