Kisqali vs Ibrance

Kisqali (ribociclib) is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of adults with HR-positive, HER2-negative stage II and III early breast cancer at high risk of recurrence, and for HR-positive/HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Its FDA approval date was March 13, 2017. One key finding from its review noted a median PFS of 14.7 months and a Hazard Ratio (95% CI) for PFS of 0.556 (0.429, 0.720).

Ibrance (palbociclib) is indicated for HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer in combination with an aromatase inhibitor as initial endocrine-based therapy in postmenopausal women and men, and for HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer with disease progression following endocrine therapy. Its approval date was March 31, 2017. Its review highlighted a median progression-free survival of 24.8 months when combined with Letrozole, compared to 14.5 months for Placebo plus Letrozole, with a hazard ratio for progression-free survival of 0.576.

These drugs were studied in separate trials with different designs, patient populations, and timepoints. The endpoints, comparators, and specific trial contexts vary between the studies for Kisqali and Ibrance. Therefore, the figures presented are not head-to-head comparisons, and neither drug is presented as superior to the other.