(Reuters) - An experimental pancreatic cancer treatment from Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc failed to statistically improve the overall survival of patients, sending the company's shares down nearly 33 percent in early trading.
The drugmaker said new findings from the mid-stage study showed that the drug, called TH-302, did not meet the secondary goal of the study.
The company said in February that TH-302 met the main goal of the study by increasing the time of survival in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer without the disease worsening.
Overall survival is considered an important indicator of potential benefit from cancer treatments, along with progression-free survival — the time patients can be treated without the disease worsening.
In December, drugmaker Endocyte Inc said its experimental cancer treatment did not improve overall survival of patients in a study, wiping off 65 percent of its market capitalization that day.
Similarly, Celgene Corp scrapped a late-stage study of its flagship product Revlimid for prostate cancer after it was determined that it would not extend survival.
South San Francisco-based Threshold shares, which have gained 40 percent in value over the last three months, were trading down 28 percent at $6.24 after touching a low of $5.87 on the Nasdaq on Monday morning.
(Reporting by Vidya P L Nathan; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
(vidya.loganathan@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: vidya.loganathan.reuters.com@reuters.net)
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