Amgen melanoma drug fails to improve overall survival rates

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Amgen melanoma drug fails to improve overall survival rates

(Reuters) - Amgen Inc said its experimental drug to treat a deadly form of skin cancer did not significantly improve overall survival rates in patients enrolled in a late-stage study. The company said the drug met the study's main goal of shrinking tumors, as it had previously reported, but did not meet the secondary goal of improving overall survival in patients with melanoma. ISI Group analyst Mark Schoenebaum said the drug's failure to significantly improve survival rates could affect its chances for approval and limit its commercial opportunity as a single therapy. Amgen said in June that data from the pivotal study showed that the drug improved survival by 21 percent for patients with advanced forms of melanoma compared with a standard white blood cell-boosting drug.

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