Biotech Values

[iwfal]

But given the drug is being given on top of active therapy, it is still unclear whether the worse outcome may not be the result of the additional tox issues causing more morbidity and/or FOLFIRI dose reductions and interruptions.

Followup post - while I agree it could be tough in some instances to 'prove' that the worse pfs in the treated arm is NOT due to extra tox etc, there are other instances where it is less difficult (e.g. MetMab's extreme dichotomy), and in yet others it is clear cut that these kinase actor treatments do speed growth of some tumors:

Zelboraf is the most famous (hugely accelerating squamous cell cancer) - but some other kinase actor drugs have a similar problem listed on their label, albeit with much less frequency than Z (can't remember which one(s) right now - but I know I bumped into it sometime in the last several months).

Note that I agree in advance that Z is an oddity in the sense that it isn't even targeting wild type gene - so how is it having an effect anywhere but the mutant BRAF? (I'd love to know the MOA for this causing of squamous cell cancer). But, as I said, Z is not alone in this kind of effect - just the most extreme known.