1 in 4 metastatic breast cancer patients treated with Novartis Kisqali® remain progression-free beyond 4 years

Metastatic breast cancer is cancer that has spread beyond the breasts to other parts of the body. Long-term progression-free survival benefit with Kisqali was observed in patients regardless of their menopausal status and was achieved even in a proportion of patients with unfavorable prognostic factors (liver involvement, ≥ 3 metastatic sites)¹. Patients had a median progression-free survival of 6.8 years¹. The median overall survival was not estimable.

Kisqali has demonstrated statistically significant overall survival (OS) across all three Phase III MONALEESA trials^2-12.

“The latest MONALEESA analysis shows that 1 in 4 patients with metastatic disease remained progression-free for four years or more. Our biomarker analyses demonstrate clinical and genomic factors potentially associated with these outstanding responses, highlighting the importance of precision medicine in identifying which patients may derive the greatest benefit from CDK4/6 inhibitors,” said Dr. Pedram Razavi, Breast Medical Oncologist and Director of Translational Oncology Partnership Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, who is the author and presenter of the analysis at SABCS.

“Kisqali continues to deliver on its promise of potentially offering more time for people living with advanced breast cancer,” said Mark Rutstein, Global Head of Oncology Development at Novartis. “The results from the long-term analysis provide continued confidence in the clinical benefit of Kisqali for metastatic breast cancer patients.”

Patient and Biomarker Characteristics Associated with Long-Term Response
The post-hoc exploratory analysis of the MONALEESA-2, -3 and -7 trials in first-line HR+/HER2- MBC aimed to identify clinical characteristics and biomarkers of patients who experienced long-term response with Kisqali¹.

NATALEE 5-year Data Reinforce Sustained Benefit in Reducing Distant Recurrence
Additionally, Novartis is presenting a sub-analysis from the five-year NATALEE trial that showed Kisqali plus a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor (NSAI) continues to result in improved distant disease-free survival (DDFS) compared to NSAI alone¹³. This was consistent across key subgroups with node-positive and node-negative disease, reinforcing Kisqali plus NSAI as a treatment option to help reduce the risk of recurrence for the broadest population of HR+/HER2- early breast cancer (EBC) patients^13,14.
 
About Novartis in Breast Cancer
For more than 30 years, Novartis has been at the forefront of driving scientific advancements for people touched by breast cancer and improving clinical practice in collaboration with the global community. With one of the most comprehensive breast cancer portfolios and pipeline, Novartis leads the industry in discovery of new therapies and combinations in HR+/HER2- breast cancer, the most common form of the disease.
 
About Kisqali^® (ribociclib)
Kisqali^® (ribociclib) is a selective cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, helping slow the progression of cancer by inhibiting two proteins called cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4/6). These proteins, when over-activated, enable cancer cells to grow and divide quickly. Targeting CDK4/6 with enhanced precision plays a role in tumor control.
 
Kisqali has been approved as a treatment for breast cancer by regulatory authorities in more than 100 countries worldwide, including the U.S. FDA and the European Commission^15,16. In the US, Kisqali is indicated in combination with an AI as an adjuvant treatment for adults with HR+/HER2- stage II and III early breast cancer at high risk of recurrence, as well as for the treatment of adults with HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer or ABC as initial ET; Kisqali is also approved in the metastatic indication in combination with fulvestrant as initial ET or following disease progression on ET¹⁵.
 
In EBC, Kisqali is the only CDK4/6 inhibitor recommended by the NCCN Guidelines^® for breast cancer as Category 1 preferred for both all node-positive disease as well as for patients with no nodal involvement with high-risk disease characteristics, such as tumor size >5 cm, or for tumors sized 2-5 cm, either Grade 2 with high genomic risk/Ki-67 ≥20% or Grade 3¹⁷. Kisqali approvals in EBC from regulatory authorities worldwide are ongoing, including recent approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration¹⁸. In MBC, Kisqali has consistently demonstrated statistically significant overall survival benefit across three Phase III trials^2-12. The NCCN Guidelines^® also recommend Kisqali as the only Category 1 preferred CDK4/6 inhibitor for first-line treatment of people living with HR+/HER2- MBC when combined with an AI, making Kisqali the preferred first-line treatment of choice for US prescribers in HR+/HER2- MBC¹⁷.
 
In addition, Kisqali has achieved the highest score (A) on the European Society for Medical Oncology-Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale (ESMO-MCBS) for EBC and has the highest rating of any CDK4/6 inhibitor on the ESMO Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale, achieving a score of four out of five for first-line pre-menopausal patients with HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer^19,20. Further, Kisqali in combination with either letrozole or fulvestrant has uniquely, among other CDK4/6 inhibitors, received a score of four out of five for post-menopausal patients with HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer treated in the first line²¹.
 
Kisqali was developed by Novartis under a research collaboration with Astex Pharmaceuticals.
 

Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as “potential,” “can,” “will,” “plan,” “may,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “look forward,” “believe,” “committed,” “investigational,” “pipeline,” “launch,” or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG’s current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis
Novartis is an innovative medicines company. Every day, we work to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives so that patients, healthcare professionals and societies are empowered in the face of serious disease. Our medicines reach nearly 300 million people worldwide.

Reimagine medicine with us: Visit us at https://www.novartis.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X/Twitter and Instagram.
  
References

1. Andre F et al. Pooled analysis of patients (pts) treated with 1st-line (1L) ribociclib (RIB) + endocrine therapy (ET) in the MONALEESA (ML) studies: long-term progression-free survival (PFS). Presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, December 11, 2025. Texas, USA.
2. Yardley DA et al. Pooled exploratory analysis of survival in patients (pts) with HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer (ABC) and visceral metastases (mets) treated with ribociclib (RIB) + endocrine therapy (ET) in the MONALEESA (ML) trials. Poster presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology Congress. September 9-13, 2022. Paris, France.
3. Neven P et al. Updated overall survival (OS) results from the first-line (1L) population in the Phase III MONALEESA-3 trial of postmenopausal patients with HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer (ABC) treated with ribociclib (RIB) + fulvestrant (FUL). Mini oral presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Breast Cancer Congress. May 4, 2022. Paris, France.
4. Hortobagyi GN, Stemmer SM, Burris HA, et al. Overall Survival with Ribociclib plus Letrozole in Advanced Breast Cancer. N Engl J Med. 2022;386(10):942-950. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2114663.
5. Hortobagyi GN et al. Overall survival (OS) results from the phase III MONALEESA (ML)-2 trial of postmenopausal patients with hormone receptor positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HR+/HER2−) advanced breast cancer (ABC) treated with endocrine therapy (ET) ± ribociclib. LBA 17. Proffered paper presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology Congress, September 16-21, 2021. Lugano, Switzerland.
6. Im SA, Lu YS, Bardia A, et al. Overall survival with ribociclib plus endocrine therapy in breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2019;381(4):307-316. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1903765.
7. Slamon DJ, Neven P, Chia S, et al. Overall Survival with Ribociclib plus Fulvestrant in Advanced Breast Cancer. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(6):514-524. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1911149.
8. Slamon DJ et al. Overall survival (OS) results of the Phase III MONALEESA-3 trial of postmenopausal patients (pts) with hormone receptor-positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor 2-negative (HER2-) advanced breast cancer (ABC) treated with fulvestrant (FUL) ± ribociclib (RIB). LBA7_PR. Presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology Congress. September 29, 2019. Barcelona, Spain.
9. Slamon DJ et al. Updated overall survival (OS) results from the Phase III MONALEESA-3 trial of postmenopausal patients (pts) with HR+/HER2− advanced breast cancer (ABC) treated with fulvestrant (FUL) ± ribociclib (RIB). Presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting. June 5, 2021. Chicago, USA.
10. Tripathy D et al. Updated overall survival (OS) results from the phase III MONALEESA-7 trial of pre- or perimenopausal patients with HR+/HER2− advanced breast cancer (ABC) treated with endocrine therapy (ET) ± ribociclib. Presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. December 9, 2020. Texas, USA.
11. Yardley D et al. Overall survival (OS) in patients (pts) with advanced breast cancer (ABC) with visceral metastases (mets), including those with liver mets, treated with ribociclib (RIB) plus endocrine therapy (ET) in the MONALEESA (ML) -3 and -7 trials. Presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting. June 2020. Chicago, USA.
12. O’Shaughnessy J et al. Overall survival subgroup analysis by metastatic site from the Phase III MONALEESA-2 study of first-line ribociclib + letrozole in postmenopausal patients with HR+/HER2− advanced breast cancer. Presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. December 7-10, 2021. Texas, USA.
13. Hurvitz S et al. Five-year analysis of distant disease-free survival (DDFS) across key subgroups from the phase 3 NATALEE trial of ribociclib (RIB) plus a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor (NSAI) in patients with HR+/HER2− _early breast cancer (EBC). Presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, December 11, 2025. Texas, USA.
14. Crown J, Stroyakovskii D, Yardley DA, et al. Adjuvant Ribociclib Plus Nonsteroidal Aromatase Inhibitor Therapy in Patients With HR+/HER2− Early Breast Cancer: NATALEE 5-Year Outcomes. Presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress; October 17-21, 2025; Berlin, Germany.
15. Kisqali. Prescribing Information (US FDA). Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation; 2017. Accessed November 2025. https://www.novartis.com/us-en/sites/novartis_us/files/kisqali.pdf
16. Kisqali. Summary of product characteristics (SmPC). Novartis Europharm Limited; 2017. Accessed November 2025. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/product-information/kisqali-epar-product-information_en.pdf
17. NCCN Guidelines. NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) - Breast Cancer. Accessed November 2025. https://www.nccn.org
18. National Medical Products Administration. Drug Evaluation Information Disclosure: Drug Evaluation Approval Results. National Medical Products Administration. Published May 21, 2025. Accessed November 2025. https://www.nmpa.gov.cn/zwfw/sdxx/sdxxyp/yppjfb/20250521151427103.html
19. European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO). ESMO MCBS scorecards; NATALEE. Available from: https://www.esmo.org/guidelines/esmo-mcbs/esmo-mcbs-for-solid-tumours/esmo-mcbs-scorecards/scorecard-468-1 Accessed November 2025.
20. European Society for Medical Oncology. Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale Scorecard. Updated February 7, 2025. Available from: https://www.esmo.org/guidelines/esmo-mcbs/esmo-mcbs-scorecards/scorecard-158-1 Accessed November 2025.
21. European Society for Medical Oncology. Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale Scorecard. Updated February 7, 2025. Available from: https://www.esmo.org/guidelines/esmo-mcbs/esmo-mcbs-scorecards/scorecard-9-1 Accessed November 2025.
    
    

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