Bayer and Onyx begin Phase III Nexavar trial

Phase III trials of cancer drug Nexavar have been announced by Bayer and Onyx.

The firms want to look at the effectiveness of Nexavar when combined with chemotherapy agents paclitaxel and carboplatin, compared to the agents used alone. It will assess survival as the main goal, with secondary endpoints including tumour response, progression-free survival and safety.

Nexavar’s trial will enrol 900 patients and will be open to all sufferers of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at sites across Europe, the Asia Pacific region, North America and South America.

“Despite recent therapeutic advances, non-small cell lung cancer remains a devastating disease,” said Susan Kelley, vice president of oncology at Bayer Pharmacuticals.

“In early clinical studies, we observed preliminary activity in a small number of non-small cell lung cancer patients who received Nexavar administered in this drug combination,” she added.

Nexavar is already approved for use against kidney cancer in the US, and is currently in phase III trials to test its effectiveness in treating liver and skin cancers. The drug targets two forms of kinase which have been identified as involved in tumour growth.

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