Lilly
lung cancer drug improves survival in late-stage trial
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[February 20, 2014]
By Esha Dey
(Reuters) —
An experimental cancer drug developed by
Eli Lilly and Co, touted by some to be the company's next
blockbuster, significantly improved survival rates in lung cancer
patients, sending the company's shares up 3 percent in early
trading.
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Lilly needs new drugs to offset declining sales of
its older drugs as they lose patent protection.
Ramucirumab, designed to treat multiple cancers, has the potential
to generate annual sales of $1.5 billion by 2020, according to some
analysts.
The drug has already been shown be successful in treating stomach
cancer, and Lilly is waiting for approval from the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration to market it for that disease.
The latest results could help allay some concerns about the drug
after it failed to delay the progression of breast cancer in a
late-stage trial last year.
The late-stage lung cancer trial compared a combination of
ramucirumab and a common chemotherapy drug, docetaxel, with a
combination of a placebo and docetaxel in treating patients with
non-small cell lung cancer.
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The trial, known as Revel, showed that ramucirumab significantly
improved overall survival rates as well as improving survival rates
without the cancer worsening.
Lilly did not provide details of the trial results, which it said
would be presented at a scientific meeting.
The company said on Wednesday that it planned to submit the first
application for marketing approval later this year.
Data from two other studies to test the drug's effectiveness to
treat liver and colorectal cancer are expected later this year,
Lilly said.
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BMO Capital Markets analyst Alex Arfaei expressed caution about
the latest results.
"We believe Revel needs to show at least (a) 2-3 month improvement
in overall survival to be considered clinically meaningful," he said
in a note.
Ramucirumab, which Lilly acquired through its $6.5 billion purchase
of ImClone Systems Inc in 2008, works by blocking development of
blood vessels that feed tumors — a process known as angiogenesis.
Lilly's shares were up 3 percent at $56.96 in early trading on the
New York Stock Exchange. The company's shares had risen just 3
percent in the 52 weeks up to Tuesday's close.
(Reporting by Esha Dey in Bangalore;
editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Ted Kerr)
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