In lung cancer, Amgen’s buzzy KRAS drug hit the heights. But in its latest update at ESMO over the weekend, it didnt follow suit in colon cancer.

                Amgen was testing its drug, known as                 AMG 510 in an early-stage, phase 1 focused on patients with previously treated KRAS G12C-mutant solid tumors.

                There were 76 patients in all, but in an analysis presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology annual meeting, focus was on the subset of evaluable colorectal cancer (CRC) patients who could take the highest 960mg dose, which was an even dozen.

                Of these 12, only one patient saw a partial response (PR) and 10 had stable disease for a disease control rate of 92%. There were no major adverse safety worries attached to the test.

                The study also looked at patients with several different cancers: Thirteen of the evaluable patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) received the highest dose, of which seven (54%) hit a PR at one or more timepoints and six (46%) achieved stable disease, for a disease control rate of 100%.

                “Data across dosing cohorts also showed tumor responses in two evaluable patients with appendiceal cancer with one partial response and one experiencing stable disease,” Amgen said in a release from Spain.

                Just a few weeks back, Amgen posted new data on AMG 510 in NSCLC at the World Conference on Lung Cancer that was much more encouraging.

                This included 23 evaluable NSCLC patients with 13 taking the target dose, i.e., 960mg.                 The drug kept cancer at bay in 100% of lung cancer patients and shrank tumors in more than half of them.

                Amgen was hopeful the benefit could translate into CRC, but the one PR isn’t nearly as impressive. While a common oncogene driving several of the biggest killing cancers, KRAS is a tough target, one previously seen as “undruggable,” and has generated a lot of coverage this year as Amgen appeared to have a good angle on it.

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                Management, for its part, was keeping upbeat around the ESMO performance. “KRAS is the most frequently mutated oncogene in human tumors. Although KRASG12C has been a formidable target for nearly four decades, we can now report responses in patients with non-small cell lung, colorectal and appendiceal cancers,” Amgen R&D chief David Reese said in a statement.

                The company is “encouraged by these early results,” keeping in mind that these patients have progressed after receiving a median of four prior therapies, and in some cases as many as 10, he said.

                The focus now, he added, was combo studies “to further explore the potential of AMG 510 in lung and colorectal tumors,” and perhaps hit other driving mutations within the disease.

                The much smaller biotech Mirati Therapeutics is also going after the same target with its MRTX849, which, with a little help from the Amgen buzz and a recent Novartis combo deal, has been generating its own noise of late. Data is expected from the company later this year.