ZURICH (Thomson Financial) - Novartis AG said new data has shown RAD001 (everolimus) to significantly prolong time without tumour growth and risk of cancer progression in patients with advanced kidney cancer who have so far not responded to standard therapies.
The Basel-based drug maker said that according to interim study findings, RAD001 extended the time without tumour growth from 1.9 months to 4 months and reduced the risk of cancer progression by 70 percent.
RAD001 is a once-daily oral therapy that functions by continuously inhibiting the mTOR protein -- a central regulator of tumour cell division and blood vessel growth in cancer cells.
The new study will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday, May 31, 2008.
Earlier this year, an independent data monitoring committee stopped the RECORD-1 trial after interim results showed that patients receiving RAD001 experienced a significantly longer time without their cancer worsening compared to patients receiving placebo. andrew.ge.thompson@thomsonreuters.com at/lam COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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