Johnson & Johnson's Amivantamab Eradicates Tumors

Doctors have reported 'unprecedentedly strong responses' to amivantamab, an injection developed by Johnson & Johnson, in a clinical trial for treatment-resistant head and neck cancer. The international study, led by the Institute of Cancer Research, involved 102 patients across 11 countries whose cancers had not responded to standard treatments. Amivantamab, a bispecific monoclonal antibody, shrank tumors in 42% of patients, with 15 experiencing complete tumor eradication. Patients receiving the treatment lived for a median of 12.5 months, a significant improvement for a cancer type with very poor outcomes. The drug works by blocking EGFR and MET proteins and activating the immune system. It is administered as a convenient injection every three weeks with mild to moderate side effects. The results are being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting. This treatment has already been approved for certain lung cancer subtypes and is being tested in about 60 other clinical trials for various cancers.