OncoMed's demcizumab fails Phase II pancreatic cancer trial
OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:OMED) sank $3.21 (37%) to $5.55 on Monday after reporting that demcizumab (OMP-21M18) missed the primary endpoint in the Phase II YOSEMITE trial to treat metastatic pancreatic cancer in the first-line setting. Separately, the company said Bayer AG (Xetra:BAYN) will not exercise options to license two of its cancer candidates, vantictumab (OMP-18R5) and ipafricept (OMP-54F28).
YOSEMITE's 204 patients received either placebo or one or two 70-day truncated courses of demcizumab, plus Abraxane nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine. Compared with placebo, neither demcizumab regimen extended median progression-free survival (PFS) (5.4 months for one course and 5.5 months for two vs. 5.5 months for placebo, HR=1.03 and 0.83), missing the study's primary endpoint. In an interim analysis, pooled data showed demcizumab did not lead to an overall survival (OS) benefit (13.2 months vs. not reached, HR=1.02). Overall response rates were 33.1% for the demcizumab combination vs. 41.2% for control...