Drug combo shrinks tumors in cancer patients

A combination of Mirati Therapeutics Inc.’s genetic mutation-targeting adagrasib and older cancer drug Erbitux shrank tumors in 39 percent of patients with advanced colorectal cancer treated in a small trial, the company said on Sunday. Adagrasib targets a mutated form of a gene known as “KRAS.” Mirati said that out of 28 evaluated trial patients treated with adagrasib plus Erbitux, 11, or 39 percent, experienced tumor shrinkage. Two patients had tumor growth, but the cancer was stabilized in the others, Mirati said.