Dive Brief:
- Exelixis cancer drug candidate Cometriq (which is already approved for a form of thyroid cancer) showed promise in kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma) in clinical trial results released at the European Cancer Congress.
- The drug, Cometriq, showed a 42% reduction in tumor progression or death risk compared to Novartis' Afinitor.
- Patients in the phase III trial had already received first-line treatment for their disease. The median progression free survival for Cometriq-treated patients was nearly double (7.4 months) that of Afinitor-treated patients. However, Cometriq also had a higher adverse event profile compared to Afinitor and did not show a statistically significant survival benefit.
Dive Insight:
Exelixis' drug shared the kidney cancer stage with Bristol-Myers rock star immuno-oncologic Opdivo at the European Cancer Congress in Vienna. And while the company is significantly smaller than the U.S. pharma giant, it could have a promising oncologic medicine on its hands.
That's particularly significant since renal cell carcinoma kills 140,000 people around the world every year.