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Replies to #5299 on Biotech Values
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randychub

12/01/04 10:23 PM

#5300 RE: poorgradstudent #5299

BMY dropped the drug after they did not get good data on TTP. YMI picked it up after the ASCO abstract that showed the drug extended life by 50%. After breaking the data down into 3 groups, mets in 0-6 months, mets 6-36 months, and 36 months and over they found that the first 2 groups did very well and the last group seen no benifit.

THanks for you thoughts.

Randy
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randychub

12/01/04 10:25 PM

#5301 RE: poorgradstudent #5299

YMI - Toxicity

Table 5 summarizes drug-related adverse events, which occurred in 10% of patients in
either arm. As expected, patients who received DPPE plus DOX had more vomiting,
ataxia, dizziness, extrapyramidal effects, and hallucinations; interestingly, they also had
less stomatitis. There was no difference in grade 3 or 4 neutropenia (68% v 63%) or
febrile neutropenia (7% v 8%) between DPPE plus DOX and DOX arms, respectively.
There were no clinically significant adverse effects on liver or renal function. The use of
blood transfusions (8% v 4%), growth factors (6% v 4%), and prophylactic antibiotics
(2% v 1%) was similar for DPPE plus DOX and DOX arms, respectively. There were
seven deaths within 30 days of protocol therapy. These included three patients receiving
DPPE plus DOX in whom death was considered related to drug (febrile neutropenia,
myelosuppression, and hypertension with possible pulmonary embolism). One patient
receiving DOX died as a result of febrile neutropenia after receiving a subsequent salvage
regimen of chemotherapy (Table 6). Two patients receiving DOX had clinical evidence of
cardiomyopathy, four patients receiving DPPE plus DOX had at least one report of
cardiac failure, and 18 patients in each arm had at least one documented decrease in left
ventricular ejection fraction (by 20% of baseline value or to a value of < 40%).
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DewDiligence

12/01/04 10:32 PM

#5302 RE: poorgradstudent #5299

>> The other red flag with the phase III described in the JCO article is that overall survival was increased by the addition of tesmilifine without an increase in PFS. <<

In a case like this it is helpful to see the K-M curves themselves. Comparing only the median values of the active-arm PFS and OS to their placebo-arm counterparts can be misleading.

The comparison of medians is just the horizontal distance between the K-M curves at 0.50 on the y-axis, and 0.50 may be a height at which the curves happen to be unusually close or unusually separated.

When in doubt, get the actual curves!