Bayer AG (BAY) and its U.S. partner Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ONXX) said Monday that cancer drug Nexavar didn't meet the companies' primary targets in a trial to treat skin cancer.
Recently, shares of Bayer were up 5 cents at $51.90. Shares of Onyx were down $5.20, or 29.7%, at $12.30.
Late-stage Phase III tests on the treatment of advanced melanoma showed no improvement when Nexavar was compared with drugs already used to treat this kind of cancer, the companies said.
The target set by the companies was to improve the progression-free survival rate of patients suffering from advanced melanoma.
"This trial does not change our commitment to, and belief in, Nexavar," said Hollings Renton, chairman, president, and chief executive of Onyx.
The drug is already approved and on the market to treat renal cancer in the U.S., Europe and other countries.
Late November, Bayer reported third-quarter sales of the drug of EUR37 million and said it expects full-year 2006 sales to be over EUR100 million.
The companies are also evaluating Nexavar for treatment of liver and non-small-cell lung cancer, and are conducting the last of three clinical trials.
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