Article
Amgen's Rilotumumab Fails...Again
The monoclonal antibody,a c-Met inhibitor, was being tested in advanced gastric cancer patients following it's revival 2 years back.
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) ended clinical trials of a drug for advanced gastric cancer after an independent committee monitoring the studies found an increase in the number of deaths for people using the medicine along with chemotherapy.
All Amgen-sponsored studies of the drug, rilotumumab, have been terminated, the company said today in a statement. The criteria used to indicate futility would probably have been met at the interim analysis scheduled for March, Thousand Oaks, California-based Amgen said.
The decision is an end to a bumpy ride with rilotumumab, which Amgen revived two years ago for a new trial after it disappointed in an earlier study. The company has been seeking to develop products to treat gastric cancer to meet a “tremendous amount of unmet medical need in the Asian markets” in particular, Arvind Sood, vice president of investor relations, said last year at an investor conference.
Link to the original report on Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/1r3EbQY
