The recently concluded American Society for Clinical Oncology is considered to be the World Series of information regarding the latest developments in cancer treatment. The news flowing from this year’s meeting in Chicago gave patients new reasons to be optimistic and should brighten the day for investors in those companies providing promising treatments.
However, industry observers were pretty much in agreement that nothing really earth-shattering happened.
One of the biggest developments was the announcement that the Pfizer’s (NYSE:PFE) estrogen-blocker Aromasin was found to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer by 65% in post-menopausal women at high risk for breast cancer, according to researchers. An estimated 1.3 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide each year and nearly 500,000 die of the disease. It is the second leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women after lung cancer.
One prominent oncologist said the results were exciting because the drug gives women at high-risk for breast cancer an alternative to the drug tamoxifen and to a double mastectomy just to prevent getting the disease.
Unfortunately for Pfizer and its investors, Aromasin recently lost its patent and cheaper generic versions are now available. The company hasn’t said whether it would try to extend the patent based on this new preventative data. In 2010, Aromasin generated $483 million in sales last year for Pfizer, but sales were down in the first quarter of this year.
Other established drugs also were in the spotlight. Data showed extended survival rates in patients taking the Novartis (NYSE:NVS) drug Gleevec for three years following surgery to remove gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) prostate cancer drug Zytiga improved patient survival time slightly better than in previous research, boosting it to 4.6 months from 3.9 months.
In addition, Eli Lilly’s (NYSE:LLY) Alimta drug delayed progression of lung cancer by more than a month when used as a maintenance therapy in patients who were already treated with it as part of their first-round cancer cocktail. Lilly says it will use the data to support an FDA application for a new indication in maintenance therapy.
Two therapies showed success in prolonging survival of newly diagnosed patients with melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. One of them is Yervoy from Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY), which received FDA approval earlier this year. However, the reported two-month survival rate for the drug was probably a letdown for Wall Street, considering the expectations for the drug were high. In fact, Goldman Sachs analysts earlier had projected that the survival benefit would be “at least four months” and Cowen & Co. recently cited consultants that made a similar projection.
Results from a study of the other skin cancer drug, vemurafenib, from Roche and Daiichi Sankyo were encouraging but not overwhelming. It’s estimated that patients on vemurafenib survived 10.5 months compared to 7.8 months for those on just chemotherapy.
From the investor standpoint, the meeting might have been ho-hum. But if you’re a cancer patient, any progress in treating the disease is heartening.
