Drano, you just beat me to the punch! It is alw
Post# of 72440
It is always unfortunate when a drug is not successful for the treatment against cancer but this article highlights the value that a cancer drug will bring to shareholders. This failed Phase 3 was for pancreatic cancer. I am hopeful IPIX will finalize Brilacidin partnerships that will provide financial resources to allow IPIX to advance Kevetrin which could save millions of lives and provide a windfall for IPIX investors.
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October 16, 2019 07:54 AM EDT
John Carroll
R&D
Eli Lilly’s first PhIII showdown for their $1.6B cancer drug just flopped — what now?
When Eli Lilly plunked down $1.6 billion in cash to acquire Armo Biosciences a little more than a year ago, the stars seemed aligned in its favor. The jewel in the crown they were buying was pegilodecakin, which had cleared the proof-of-concept stage and was already in a Phase III trial for pancreatic cancer.
And that study just failed.
Lilly reported this morning that their cancer drug flopped on overall survival when added to FOLFOX (folinic acid, 5-FU, oxaliplatin), compared to FOLFOX alone among patients suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer.
To be sure, pancreatic cancer has been one of the toughest challenges in the oncology field, defying multiple attempts at defeating it. But even as Lilly advances more mid-stage studies in lung cancer, with data due in early 2020, the setback here has to reduce hopes in the drug’s future — where Lilly execs clearly looked for a new blockbuster.
While the pharma giant has had its successes in R&D, oncology has been tough for Eli Lilly. And they’ve devoted more resources to cancer as they sought to revive their prospects in the hot market segment. Lilly hit in CDK 4/6, but their late arrival put them behind the 8 ball of Pfizer’s lead drug. And Lartruvo had to be pulled this year after it failed a confirmatory study, costing billions.
This late-stage drug of theirs is designed to kick up powerful CD8+ T cells in patients, improving prognosis and lengthening the survival of cancer patients. That falls right into the sweet spot of immuno-oncology, a field where Lilly has been playing catch-up to Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
We don’t have the data yet, which is standard operating procedure in oncology R&D. But when we do you can expect plenty of careful consideration as analysts look to reset the odds of a success.