Merck Serono - Erfolgreicher "Kill"
Chicago war in den letzten Tagen Schauplatz der für die Pharma- und Biotechindustrie wichtigsten Tagung des Jahres. Beim Treffen der American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) werden die neuesten Studienergebnisse in der Krebsbehandlung vorgestellt, die über zukünftige Umsatzerwartungen entscheiden. Insiderinformationen vor der Tagung wurden in der Vergangenheit zu Aktienspekulationen genutzt, was dieses Jahr verhindert werden sollte, indem die meisten Abstracts vor dem Kongress zum gleichen Zeitpunkt veröffentlicht worden waren.
Trotzdem reizt die mediale Aufmerksamkeit Pharmaunternehmen, sich weiter aus dem Fenster zu lehnen, als es die Substanz der Daten hergibt. Gestern traf es Merck Serono. Um 16:02 Uhr hat der Pharmakonzern diese Pressemitteilung rausgehauen lassen:
Erbitux Significantly Prolongs Survival in 1st-Line Treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Chicago and Darmstadt, Germany (ots/PRNewswire) -
- New Data Provides the Basis for the Future Role of Erbitux
(cetuximab) as a Standard in Combination With Platinum-Based Chemotherapy in the 1st-Line Treatment of Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
- Location: Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical
Oncology (ASCO) 2008, Chicago, USA
The addition of Erbitux(R) to a platinum-based chemotherapy
significantly increased overall survival in the 1st-line treatment of NSCLC.(1) This data was presented today at the plenary session of the 44th American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) congress. The new findings confirm that Erbitux is the first targeted therapy to show a significant survival benefit in NSCLC patients across all histological subtypes.
...
Um 18:32 Uhr hiess es dann Kill-Kill-Kill - "due to premature release". Chicago and Darmstadt, Germany (ots/PRNewswire) -
- New Data Provides the Basis for the Future Role of Erbitux
(cetuximab) as a Standard in Combination With Platinum-Based Chemotherapy in the 1st-Line Treatment of Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
- Location: Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical
Oncology (ASCO) 2008, Chicago, USA
The addition of Erbitux(R) to a platinum-based chemotherapy
significantly increased overall survival in the 1st-line treatment of NSCLC.(1) This data was presented today at the plenary session of the 44th American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) congress. The new findings confirm that Erbitux is the first targeted therapy to show a significant survival benefit in NSCLC patients across all histological subtypes.
...
Vielleicht besser so. Denn die Studie zeigte nur zaghafte Forschritte in der Therapie des fortgeschrittenem Lungenkrebs. Eine Verlängerung der Überlebenszeit im Median von 1,2 Monate (von 10,1 auf 11,3 Monate), bei einer Signifikanz von 0,044 ist kein Durchbruch.
Bei den Untertypen "Adenokarzinom" und "Riesenzellkarzinom" hatte die Studie keine signifikante Verbesserung der Überlebenszeit ergeben. "The new findings confirm that Erbitux is the first targeted therapy to show a significant survival benefit in NSCLC patients across all histological subtypes." ist angesichts der Resultate falsch.
So sieht es auch Roy Herbst, ein Experte für Lungenkrebs am M.D. Anderson der Universität Texas.
Any time you see a positive survival benefit in lung cancer, that’s wonderful,” he told the Health Blog. But, he added, “it’s a small benefit. It’s just marginally clinically significant.”
...
Genentech’s Avastin has already been approved for non-small cell lung cancer, and one study suggested the drug improves overall survival by roughly two months. But perhaps as many as half of all patients have forms of the disease that cannot be treated by Avastin, Herbst said. Many of those patients may now receive Erbitux, — especially if the FDA approves the drug for lung cancer and insurers pay for its use, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Today’s results don’t say anything about whether Erbitux performed better in patients with a particular variation of a gene called KRAS, that appears to affect how the drug works.
Figuring out how KRAS and other genetic variations influence the efficacy of Erbitux and other lung cancer drugs will be essential to improving outcomes for patients. Without the insights that will allow doctors to better tailor treatments, Herbst said, “none of these drugs is so good.”
...
Genentech’s Avastin has already been approved for non-small cell lung cancer, and one study suggested the drug improves overall survival by roughly two months. But perhaps as many as half of all patients have forms of the disease that cannot be treated by Avastin, Herbst said. Many of those patients may now receive Erbitux, — especially if the FDA approves the drug for lung cancer and insurers pay for its use, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Today’s results don’t say anything about whether Erbitux performed better in patients with a particular variation of a gene called KRAS, that appears to affect how the drug works.
Figuring out how KRAS and other genetic variations influence the efficacy of Erbitux and other lung cancer drugs will be essential to improving outcomes for patients. Without the insights that will allow doctors to better tailor treatments, Herbst said, “none of these drugs is so good.”
Dennoch: Ziel erreicht. Die Börsenportale haben die Nachricht mit Wohlwollen aufgenommen.
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Hockeystick hat darauf hingewiesen, dass Merck Serono traditionell "überoptimistisch" Studiendaten interpretiert.
[Biologicals]
| Autor: strappato 2008-06-02 Link (1 Kommentar) Ihr Kommentar |
hockeystick 2008-06-02
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