Is capmatinib a targeted drug? Belong to which generation

Capmatinib (Capmatinib) is a targeted chemotherapy drug. It differs from traditional chemotherapy drugs, which attack all dividing cells, destroying both healthy cells and cancer cells. Capmatinib is used to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has spread (metastasized) in adults whose tumors have mutations that cause mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET) exon 14 skipping. Capmatinib targets non-small cell lung cancer cells with a mutated MET gene that deletes exon 14, a mutation that is associated with increased cancer cell growth. Capmatinib works by blocking the signals from these cells that drive cancer cell growth.

Capmatinib is the first targeted therapy drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for METex14 skip mutation non-small cell lung cancer. It was approved in 2020. FoundationOne CDx is a comprehensive genomic profiling test for solid tumors and is also approved as a diagnostic adjunct to capmatinib. The GEOMETRY mono-1 phase II trial of capmatinib monotherapy showed that the overall response rate (ORR) was 68% in the initial treatment group (n=28) and 41% in the pretreatment group (n=69), skipping advanced non-small cell lung cancer; in MET-amplified advanced non-small cell lung cancer (gene copy number ≥10), the ORR in the initial treatment group was 40%, and the ORR in the pretreatment group was 29%.

In contrast, capmatinib was originally designed to solve the difficult problem of treatingMET-dependent tumors, especially those caused by mutations in the MET gene. In addition, the side effects of capmatinib are relatively mild. Common adverse reactions include mild to moderate gastrointestinal discomfort, fatigue, and increased liver function indicators. Most patients can tolerate this treatment, and the incidence of adverse reactions is relatively low. This makes capmatinib widely accepted in clinical use and becomes one of the first-line treatment options.