Amgen reports positive data from colorectal cancer drug trial

Amgen has announced that its oncology agent Vectibix has met its primary endpoint in a phase III trial assessing the drug as a treatment for colorectal cancer.

In the Aspecct study, the drug was shown to deliver a non-inferior performance to Erbitux in terms of overall survival rates among chemorefractory metastatic colorectal cancer patients with wild-type KRAS tumours.

Adverse event profiles for both compounds assessed in the head-to-head trial were as expected, with detailed safety and efficacy data from the trial set to be presented at a medical meeting later this year.

The Aspecct study was carried out by Amgen in order to support a European regulatory application for the drug in this new indication.

A fully human anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibody, Vectibix has been approved for sale in the US since 2006.

Last month, Amgen announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2013, during which it experienced a year-on-year sales improvement of four percent.