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 The company was testing its drug, algenpantucel-L, in combination
with standard-of-care therapy, against standard treatment alone, in
722 patients with surgically removed cancer.
There was no statistically significant difference between the two
groups in terms of overall survival, NewLink said.
The median survival rate was 27.3 months for patients who got the
drug, compared with 30.4 months for those on standard care, the
company said.
Investors will now likely assign a zero value to the company's
so-called HyperAcute platform, which includes algenpantucel-L and
other experimental drugs for a plethora of cancers, Cantor
Fitzgerald's Mara Goldstein told Reuters.
Analysts had become cautious about the drug's prospects last May
after NewLink said it would let the trial, IMPRESS, continue, within
months of saying it would file for approval if interim data showed
an improvement in overall survival rates.
When the trial was not stopped at the interim stage, it fueled fears
that the trial would fail.
The company will focus on its other pipeline opportunities, Chief
Executive Charles Link said in a statement.
While pancreatic cancer survival rates have been improving, the
disease is still considered largely incurable.
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About 53,070 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in
2016, of which some 41,780 will succumb to the disease, according to
the American Cancer Society.
The company's shares were down about 33 percent at $11.10 in
after-market trading. They had closed up 6.1 percent at $16.50 in
regular trading.
Up to Monday's close, the stock had more than halved in value this
year.
(Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila)
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