Corcept Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CORT) dropped some eye-catching numbers on Monday. The company released positive findings from Part A of its Phase 2 BELLA clinical trial, which tested Lifyorli combined with nab-paclitaxel and bevacizumab in 95 women with recurrent, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.
For context, Corcept is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops medications for severe oncologic, endocrinologic, metabolic, and neurologic conditions by modulating cortisol hormone effects. That cortisol angle is the whole thesis here.
Strong Progression-Free Survival And Response Rates
The single-arm, open-label trial ran across roughly 45 clinical sites in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, and the antitumor efficacy it showed was encouraging.
Patients receiving Lifyorli with nab-paclitaxel and bevacizumab achieved an investigator-assessed median progression-free survival of 7.2 months. That beat the results from the pivotal Phase 3 ROSELLA study, which reported a median progression-free survival of 5.4 months for Lifyorli plus nab-paclitaxel and 3.9 months for nab-paclitaxel alone.
The BELLA trial generated an overall response rate of 59%, outpacing the 37% achieved by Lifyorli plus nab-paclitaxel and 30% by nab-paclitaxel monotherapy in ROSELLA.
Researchers have not yet reached median overall survival, but 88% of BELLA participants remained alive at the six-month mark, compared with 82% and 77% in the respective ROSELLA cohorts.
Outsized Benefits In Bevacizumab-Naive Patients
The therapeutic benefits proved even more pronounced in participants who had not previously received bevacizumab, who accounted for about half of the study population.
Within this bevacizumab-naive subgroup, median progression-free survival reached 8.1 months, the overall response rate climbed to 66%, and the six-month overall survival rate hit 91%.
Safety findings remained consistent with the established profiles of each drug and the two-drug combination, with investigators observing no new safety signals.
Broadening Oncology Clinical Programs
Lifyorli represents the first selective glucocorticoid receptor antagonist approved by the FDA. In oncology, the mechanism counters cortisol-driven immunosuppression and enhances chemotherapy sensitivity.
Corcept expects these findings will support Lifyorli's preferred status in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.
CORT Price Action: Corcept Therapeutics shares were up 1.54% at $87.18 at the time of publication on Monday, according to market data.
