At the end of January, the pharmaceutical company Corcept Therapeutics published a press release on the positive results of the ROSELLA study!

This study investigated whether the combination of the drug Relacorilant and the chemotherapy nab-paclitaxel can improve the survival of patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

What was the study about?

Platinum-resistant ovarian cancer means that the tumor has continued to grow despite platinum-based chemotherapy and only responds to a limited extent to standard therapies. Such patients often have a poor prognosis and only limited treatment options.

In the ROSELLA study, 381 patients worldwide were randomly divided into two groups:

• One group received nab-paclitaxel alone (standard chemotherapy),

• the other nab-Paclitaxel plus Relacorilant.

What did the study show?

📌 1. Lower risk of death
Patients who received Relacorilant in addition to chemotherapy had a 35% lower risk of death than those who received chemotherapy alone. This means that the new combination significantly prolonged overall survival.

📌 2. Longer survival time
On average, patients with Relacorilant lived for 16.0 months compared to 11.9 months with chemotherapy alone – i.e. around 4 months longer.

📌 3. better progression-free survival
It has previously been shown that the combination also improves the time until the disease progresses – i.e. the period in which tumors do not grow any further.

📌 4. well tolerated
Important: The combination was well tolerated and severe side effects did not occur more frequently than with chemotherapy alone. This means that Relacorilant brings its benefits without noticeably worsening safety for patients.

📌 5. no biomarker restriction
Unlike with some other therapies, it was not necessary to select patients according to a specific tumor biomarker in this study – the benefits of the therapy were independent of certain tumor characteristics.

What does this mean for patients in Germany?

Promising new treatment option in sight
The results are particularly important because they show for the first time that an additional substance not only delays progression but also prolongs overall survival – without additional safety issues.

Regulatory submissions currently underway
– In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently reviewing Corcept’s application for approval of Relacorilant for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer; a result is expected by July 11, 2026.
– In Europe – including Germany – the application is also currently being evaluated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

➡️ Until approval, it will not remain a standard in Germany
Until Relacorilant is officially approved, this combination is not yet part of the regular treatment guidelines in Germany. But the current data are an important step in this direction.

Source: Press release from Corcept (the article is in English)