Novartis/Antisoma's ASA404 Stumbles Badly In Phase III Lung Cancer Trial
This article was originally published in Pharmaceutical Approvals Monthly
Executive Summary
Novartis and Antisoma prematurely halted a Phase III study of ASA404 - a potentially first-in-class tumor vascular-disrupting agent - after an interim analysis showed that continuing the trial would be futile. Though lung cancer is a notorious mine field for drug development, the March 29 news still was a big surprise since a similar Phase II trial showed a significant survival benefit in patients treated with the drug