ZURICH, April 11 (Reuters) - Novartis AG has stopped a late-stage trial for Tasigna in intestinal tumors after a committee said the cancer drug was unlikely to show it was more effective than Glivec, the current standard of care.
An independent data monitoring recommended stopping the trial, known as ENESTg1, for Tasigna in newly diagnosed patients with unresectable and/or metastatic GIST that has spread to other parts of the body as interim efficacy results showed Tasigna was unlikely to show superiority to Novartis's older drug.
Novartis said it remained committed to advancing treatment options for patients with GIST, or gastrointestinal stromal tumours. Symptoms of this disease vary but include bleeding, dyspepsia and obstruction, according to the Merck Manual.
The Swiss drugmaker is hoping Tasigna will ultimately replace Glivec. Tasigna has already received European backing to treat patients with a type of blood cancer.
But this setback deals Novartis's oncology pipeline a blow as the group increasingly focuses on drugs prescribed by specialists for diseases like cancer to protect profitability when top-selling drugs, such as blood pressure drug Diovan, start to face generic competition.
(Reporting by Katie Reid; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) Keywords: NOVARTIS/ (Zurich newsroom +41.58.306.7336; fax +41.44.251.0476; zurich.newsroom@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
An independent data monitoring recommended stopping the trial, known as ENESTg1, for Tasigna in newly diagnosed patients with unresectable and/or metastatic GIST that has spread to other parts of the body as interim efficacy results showed Tasigna was unlikely to show superiority to Novartis's older drug.
Novartis said it remained committed to advancing treatment options for patients with GIST, or gastrointestinal stromal tumours. Symptoms of this disease vary but include bleeding, dyspepsia and obstruction, according to the Merck Manual.
The Swiss drugmaker is hoping Tasigna will ultimately replace Glivec. Tasigna has already received European backing to treat patients with a type of blood cancer.
But this setback deals Novartis's oncology pipeline a blow as the group increasingly focuses on drugs prescribed by specialists for diseases like cancer to protect profitability when top-selling drugs, such as blood pressure drug Diovan, start to face generic competition.
(Reporting by Katie Reid; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) Keywords: NOVARTIS/ (Zurich newsroom +41.58.306.7336; fax +41.44.251.0476; zurich.newsroom@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.