Highlights from ASCO: Bayer's Nexavar; Novartis' Afinitor; and Amgen's talimogene laherparepvec

The prestigious annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) kicked off this weekend with the presentations by several drug and biotech majors of new data on their already marketed and investigational cancer products (see also separate story today on Avastin), including the following:

Germany’s Bayer (BAYN: DE) and US partner Onyx Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ONXX)  announced positive results from the Phase III DECISION trial investigating the use of Nexavar (sorafenib) tablets in patients with locally advanced or metastatic radioactive iodine (RAI)-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer.

Sorafenib significantly extended progression-free survival (PFS), the primary endpoint of the study, compared to placebo. The median PFS was 10.8 months among patients treated with sorafenib, compared to 5.8 months among patients receiving placebo (HR=0.587 [95% CI, 0.454-0.758]; p<0.0001). PFS was evaluated by an independent radiological review committee using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). Safety and tolerability in the study were generally consistent with the known profile of sorafenib, which is already approved in the USA for the treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma and for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.