Roche halts study on experimental cancer drug MetMab

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Roche halts study on experimental cancer drug MetMab

By Katharina Bart ZURICH (Reuters) - Roche Holding AG has halted a study of an experimental lung cancer drug because it failed to help patients with the disease, a blow for the drug which had been seen as a potential big seller as treatment options for the disease are limited. Roche, the world's largest maker of cancer drugs, said an independent data monitoring committee had recommended the current study of the drug should be stopped because it wasn't shown to work in patients with non-small cell lung cancer when combined with lung cancer pill Tarceva in late-stage studies. It said it was evaluating what the results of the study mean for the clinical program of the drug, called onartuzumab or MetMab, and in the meantime was looking at options for lung cancer treatment. It did not say who was on the data monitoring committee, but such groups are typically made up of doctors and carry out their work in conjunction with hospitals and patients.

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