Bayer HealthCare begins new prostate cancer drug trial

Bayer HealthCare has announced the commencement of a phase III clinical trial that will evaluate the potential benefits of its drug Xofigo in a new prostate cancer indication.

The therapy, also known as radium-223 dichloride, is being assessed in combination with abiraterone acetate and prednisone/prednisolone for the treatment of asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic chemotherapy-naive patients with bone-predominant metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

Designed to determine the effects of this combination treatment on symptomatic skeletal event-free survival, the study will involve around 800 patients and will be conducted in collaboration with Janssen.

Currently, the drug is approved in Europe for the treatment of adults with CRPC, symptomatic bone metastases and no known visceral metastases.

Dr Joerg Moeller, member of the Bayer HealthCare executive committee and head of global development, said: "We welcome further exploration of treatment combinations and pathways that may extend these benefits in even more men with this disease as the treatment landscape continues to evolve rapidly."

This comes after Bayer and Janssen also recently begun a pair of new clinical studies of the novel oral anticoagulant rivaroxaban.