NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

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Novartis Says Canakinumab Didn't Meet Primary Endpoint in Phase 3 Trial for Lung Cancer Treatment
By Pietro Lombardi
(Dow Jones) -- Novartis AG said Tuesday that a Phase 3 trial evaluating the use of canakinumab to treat lung cancer didn't meet its primary endpoint of overall survival.
The Swiss pharmaceutical group said that the canopy-2 trial was evaluating the use of canakinumab, an inhibitor of interleukin-1beta, in combination with the chemotherapy agent docetaxel. The trial involved 237 adults with advanced or metastatic nonsmall cell lung cancer whose cancer progressed while on or after previous treatments.
The company said the canakinumab development program continues, with results from a Phase 3 trial expected by the end of the year.
Write to Pietro Lombardi at [e-mail]; @pietrolomb