logo-loader

Exelixis says cancer drug meets main study goals, shares up 18%

Published: 13:15 24 Oct 2011 EDT

no_picture_pai

Drug maker Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) said that its experimental drug met its phase three endpoints of improving progression-free survival rates in patients with medullary thyroid cancer.

San Francisco, California-based Exelixis’ stock spiked 18.36 percent reaching $7.09 a share Monday on the Nasdaq Composite Index. 

The drug, Cabozantinib, improved median progression-free survival by 7.2 months compared with the placebo, and that the late-stage trial exceeded the company’s initial assumption of a 75 percent rise in progression-free survival.

Progression-free survival measures the time that a treatment prevents the cancer from getting worse.

Exelixis CEO Michael Morrissey said: "The success of the trial is an important advance for medullary thyroid cancer patients and for Exelixis. Data demonstrates cabozantinib's profound anti-tumor activity in an indication that has seen little clinical progress over the past few decades."

The study was placebo-controlled and double-blinded and enrolled about 315 patients with progressive metastatic medullary thyroid cancer. Patients were given 175-milligrams each day.

Exelixis, a biotech company that develops small molecule therapies to treat cancer, said it will consult with the US Food and Drug Administration whether the trial conduct should be changed due to the data.

The company is requesting permission to begin a rolling submission of the New Drug Application (NDA) for cabozantinib in this indication to the FDA. It expects that the filing will be completed in the first half of next year.

Exelixis said that it intends to report the data at an upcoming medical conference.

ARway.ai announces multiple new SaaS developer contracts in both the United...

ARway.ai (CSE:ARWY, OTCQB:ARWYF) Chief Executive Officer Evan Gappelberg joined Steve Darling from Proactive to announce multiple new SaaS developer sign-ups for its augmented reality experience platform, focusing on AR indoor navigation. These partnerships represent significant milestones in...

1 hour, 27 minutes ago