Allos Therapeutics Inc. (ALTH) said its experimental drug
pralatrexate increased non-small cell lung cancer patients'
survival rate more than an existing treatment in a mid-stage
study.
Shares were up 1.5% at $4.64 in recent premarket trading. The
stock has dropped 31% this year.
The trial enrolled 201 current or former smokers with an
advanced stage of the disease who had received one or two previous
treatments, including at least one chemotherapy regimen. The drug,
also called Folotyn, reduced the risk of death by 16% relative to
erlotinib, an existing treatment, and by 13% in the primary
efficacy analysis population.
After six months, 56% of patients treated with Folotyn were
alive, versus 51% with erlotinib, a Roche Holding AG (RHHBY,
ROG.VX) drug sold as Tarceva. After a year, the gap widened to 28%
and 18%, respectively. Nevertheless, erlotinib had a higher median
survival rate, at 7 months, compared with Folotyn's 6.7 months.
Allos, a small biopharmaceutical company has yet to become
profitable as it works on research and development. Pralatrexate to
treat a form of bladder cancer got orphan-drug status from the Food
and Drug Administration in May. The designation encourages the
development of treatments for rare diseases, offering years of
market exclusivity and other incentives.
-By Matt Jarzemsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2240;
matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com