| June
4, 2007--Nexavar
(Bayer/Onyx’s sorafenib), extended survival in patients
with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by 44%, compared to
placebo, in a Phase III study reported at this year’s
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in
Chicago. Just over 700 patients were enrolled in the
study, which found a median overall survival of 10.7
months in the Nexavar-treated patients compared to 7.9
months for those on the placebo.
A
multi-kinase inhibitor already approved for kidney cancer
in more than 50 countries, Nexavar inhibits both cell
proliferation and angiogenesis by targeting Raf kinase,
VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2, VEGFR-3, PDGFR-B, KIT, FLT-3, and RET.
Preclinical models suggested the Raf/MEK/ERK pathway has a
role in HCC.
The
study results were particularly heartening as HCC is such
an intractable disease. "Because there are no
therapies that significantly improve survival for the
thousands of patients with liver cancer, these findings
demonstrate the compelling study results of Nexavar as the
new reference standard of care for the first-line
treatment of HCC," said Josep M. Llovet, co-principal
investigator and a professor at the Hospital Clinic
Barcelona and Sinai School of Medicine, in a company
issued press release.
For
more, see company
press release.
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