By Fineline Cube 
Partners AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN) and Daiichi Sankyo (TYO: 4568) announced the first patient dosing in the Phase III DESTINY-Gastric05 study for Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan). The trial aims to evaluate the efficacy of this HER2-directed antibody drug conjugate (ADC) in the early first-line treatment of metastatic gastric cancer.
Global Approval and Previous Success
Enhertu, co-developed by AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo, is approved in multiple markets for treating HER2-positive breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma (GC/GEJC). Positive results from the DESTINY-Gastric04 study in second-line HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer further support its potential.
Study Design
DESTINY-Gastric05 will assess Enhertu in combination with a fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy (5-FU or capecitabine) and Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) versus trastuzumab in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy (cisplatin plus 5-FU or oxaliplatin plus capecitabine) and pembrolizumab. The study targets previously untreated patients with unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic HER2-positive (IHC 3+ or IHC 2+/ISH+) gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer with PD-L1 CPS ≥1.-Fineline Info & Tech