Pivotal test readied for Pfizer’s promising lung cancer drug

Researchers at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center are gearing up for a late-stage trial of Pfizer's crizotinib, preparing a pivotal test to see if the promising therapy can help a unique subgroup of patients with treatment-resistant lung cancer. Scientists want to test how effective the therapy is among patients whose ALK gene has fused with the EML4 gene, which generates a protein that fires up cancer cell growth. About four percent of all patients with non-small cell lung cancer develop the...

BMS, Pfizer cancer drugs take starring roles at ASCO

 Bristol-Myers Squibb's ipilimumab took the center ring at ASCO over the weekend, earning star billing for its promising data on melanoma. In a small trial, patients taking the drug lived a median of 10 months, compared to 6.4 months in a control group. And almost a quarter of the patients taking the therapy were alive after two years, compared to just 14 percent of the control group. "This is the first randomized placebo-controlled trial ever to show a survival benefit in Stage 4...