Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc (ONXX)

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Strong Showing for Onyx, Amgen at European Cancer Meeting: BioBuzz
By Adam Feuerstein 09/21/09 - 07:35 AM EDT Leave a Comment
Stock quotes in this article: ONXX , AMGN
EMERYVILLE, Calif. (TheStreet) -- Detailed data released Sunday from the phase IIb study of Onyx Pharmaceuticals'(ONXX Quote) cancer drug Nexavar in metastatic breast cancer patients looks really strong.
More from Adam Feuerstein Bulls, Bears Fight Over BioCryst: BioBuzzBiotech Stock Mailbag: Cyclacel PharmaArena Drug Aids Weight Loss But Not By MuchPsst... These Drug Firms Are Getting Bought: BioBuzzBioCryst Warns Peramivir Sales May Not Bring Profits: BioBuzzNew Medicare Rules for Dialysis Affect Biotech: BioBuzzBullish Case for Vanda Loses SteamDueling Views of Arena Pharma: BioBuzzBioCryst Still Waiting for Flu Drug Deals: BioBuzzTakeout Rumors Lift Dendreon, Bio Stocks: BioBuzz Market Activity ONYX Pharmaceuticals Inc| ONXX DOWNRecall that in July, Onyx announced that Nexavar extended progression-free survival (PFS) in this study. Well, the actual PFS benefit for Nexavar is 2.3 months, according to the late-breaker abstract for the study released Sunday to attendees at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) meeting in Berlin. This study enrolled a mixture of first-line and second-line metastatic breast cancer patients. The median PFS for Nexavar plus Xeloxa was 6.4 months compared to a PFS of 4.1 months for Xeloda alone. Xeloda is an oral cancer drug marketed by Roche.
Investors should view favorably any PFS benefit above two months in favor of Nexavar. This is the first study to demonstrate that an oral, targeted cancer drug could significantly improve time to tumor growth.
By comparison, the combination of Roche's Avastin and Xeloda improved PFS by 2.9 months compared to Xeloda alone in the previously presented Ribbon-1 study. This study enrolled only first-line metastatic breast cancer patients.
More details from the Nexavar study will be presented on Wednesday, including a breakdown of results between first-line and second-line patients. Nexavar, which Onyx co-markets with Bayer is already approved for the treatment of kidney cancer and liver cancer. The companies are moving ahead on other breast cancer studies in light of these new data.
Onyx shares closed Friday at $34.27
Amgen's Denosumab Cancer Data Positive
Cancer data from clinical trials of Amgen's(AMGN Quote) experimental bone drug denosumab is also trickling out of the ESMO meeting in Berlin, and so far, the results look positive for the drug.
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