Amgen Colon Cancer Setback Delays Competition
Posted by Jacob Goldstein
Amgen said late yesterday it was halting a closely watched trial of its cancer drug Vectibix for colon cancer. The news is a blow not only to cancer patients seeking new hope, but also to the prospect of competitive pricing in biotech cancer drugs, which can cost thousands of dollars a month.
The trial was in patients newly diagnosed with colon cancer that had spread to other parts of the body. One group of patients received Vectibix and Genentech’s Avastin, combined with chemotherapy; another group received only Avastin and chemotherapy. The trial was halted because patients lived longer and tumors grew more slowly in the group that received Avastin but not Vectibix.
When Vectibix was approved last fall, Amgen made news for pricing the drug 20% lower than Erbitux, a similar drug made by ImClone. While Vectibix’s price was still high — $8,000 a month — Amgen’s move was seen as a possible turning point in the world of biotech cancer drugs, whose high prices have increasingly drawn criticism.
But yesterday’s news means Vectibix is not likely to be a strong alternative to Erbitux anytime soon — a fact investors recognized this morning, sending ImClone stock up some 14% in early trading. Amgen, on the other hand, fell 4%.
Correction: The setback for Vectibix gave a boost to ImClone shares. The original post said Erbitux shares went up. Thanks to commenter Brad Crystal for catching our error
