Pharmaprojects R&D Pipeline News Feed
Pfizer's axitinib fails Phase III trial in pancreatic cancer
4 Feb 2009
Pfizer has terminated a Phase III trial of Axitinib, a novel small-molecule vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) inhibitor, after an independent Data Safety Monitoring Board found no evidence of improvement in the primary endpoint of survival in patients treated with both axitinib and gemcitabine, compared to gemcitabine alone, despite previous positive results in Phase II trials.
Pfizer will be looking to its anticancer pipeline to decide if there is another promising candidate with potential for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Meanwhile, Phase III trials in renal cell carcinoma, in which axitinib has so far achieved good results, will continue, as will Phase II trials in a number of other cancer types.
Pancreatic cancer is a notorious disease, which is often regarded as untreatable. The 5 year survival rates have historically always been the lowest of all the cancers. In the UK, patients diagnosed between 1996 and 1999 had a 5 year survival rate of 2% for men and 3% for women, compared to 5 year survival rates of 95% for cancer of the testis, 65% for prostate cancer and 77% for breast cancer. While there have been advances in survival rates for most cancers over the last 40 years, those for pancreatic cancer have remained static.
