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A targeted oral combo is rewriting the playbook for advanced lung cancer. The phase 3 SAFFRON trial found that osimertinib plus savolitinib significantly outperformed chemotherapy in EGFR-mutated NSCLC patients with MET overexpression or amplification after osimertinib progression — cutting the risk of disease progression by 45% and improving overall survival by nearly 5 months. Experts at ESMO 2026 called it a new global standard of care.
A targeted oral combo is rewriting the playbook for advanced lung cancer. The phase 3 SAFFRON trial, presented at the 2026 ESMO Congress, showed that combining osimertinib (Tagrisso) with the MET inhibitor savolitinib (Orpathys) significantly outperformed platinum-pemetrexed chemotherapy in patients with EGFR-mutated advanced NSCLC whose disease had progressed on osimertinib and harbored MET overexpression or amplification — a population with historically poor outcomes and limited options.
The all-oral doublet cut the risk of disease progression or death by 45% and improved overall survival by nearly 5 months. Simultaneously, the phase 3 SANOVO trial showed the same combination also works in the frontline setting for treatment-naive patients with MET-overexpressing, EGFR-mutated NSCLC, more than doubling median PFS vs. osimertinib alone. An FDA NDA for the combination was submitted in September 2026.
By the Numbers
Why it matters: MET dysregulation drives resistance in up to a third of patients who progress on osimertinib. SAFFRON and SANOVO together establish savolitinib plus osimertinib as a biomarker-directed, all-oral treatment strategy across both first-line and post-progression settings — underscoring the urgent need for routine MET testing at every stage of NSCLC management.
