LONDON (AFX) - GlaxoSmithKline PLC reported a 'low incidence' of heart problems in women taking part in all trials of its experimental breast cancer drug Tykerb to date.
Setting out the results at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Atlanta today, the British pharmaceutical group said 1.3 pct of women experienced cardiac events.
Europe's biggest drug maker is hoping Tykerb will eventually challenge blockbuster drug Herceptin, made by Roche Holding AG's and Genentech Inc.
Herceptin has been found to cause heart failure in 2-3 pct of women, and GSK is hoping to demonstrate a better safety profile.
Yesterday, GSK revealed data showing that Tykerb dramatically slowed down the progress of aggressive breast cancer in women who failed to respond to the blockbuster drug Herceptin
The phase III trial showed that the so-called time to disease progression among the women nearly doubled. Analysts were hoping results from the phase III trial would show a greater than 50 pct improvement.
GSK said in that particular trial 2.5 pct of patients taking Tykerb experienced a cardiac event, compared to less than 1 pct of those on a chemotherapy agent alone. amy.brown@afxnews.com ab COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited