Which generation of targeted drugs does capmatinib belong to? What is the effect?

Capmatinib is a selective MET inhibitor, mainly targeting patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who carry MET exon 14 skipping mutations (METex14) or MET amplification. Strictly speaking, capmatinib belongs to the first generation of MET-targeted drugs, but because it is a highly selective small-molecule MET kinase inhibitor, it has significantly improved efficacy and safety compared with early non-selective MET inhibitors, so it is also considered one of the more advanced MET-targeted treatment options.

Clinical study data show that capmatinib has an objective response rate (ORR) of 68% in untreated METex14 mutated lung cancer patients, and for patients who have received other treatments, the response rate can also reach 41%. This shows that the drug has strong anti-tumor activity and relatively long-lasting effect on this type of patients. Compared with traditional chemotherapy or immunotherapy, capmatinib can more accurately inhibit the MET signaling pathway, reduce unnecessary side effects, and improve patients' quality of life. As treatment options for patients with MET mutations are relatively limited, the launch of capmatinib provides an important new treatment option for this group.

Although capmatinib performs well in MET-mutated lung cancer, there is still a risk of drug resistance. Some patients may develop tumor progression after using it for a period of time, and the mechanism of drug resistance may involve further mutations in the MET gene or compensatory activation of other signaling pathways, such as EGFR or KRAS. Therefore, during treatment, patients need to regularly review their condition and undergo genetic testing after drug resistance to determine whether other MET inhibitors or combination treatments need to be replaced. Overall, capmatinib, as the first-generation highly selective MET inhibitor, has become an important treatment option for patients with METex14-mutated lung cancer, and is still being continuously optimized and studied to improve efficacy and prolong patient survival.

Reference materials:https://www.novartis.com/our-products/pipeline/capmatinib