RxTrials Institute Drug Pipeline Alert

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals and Onyx Pharmaceuticals received encouraging results using Nexavar to treat patients with liver cancer in two Phase III trials.

The trials enrolled 602 and 226 patients who had not received prior systemic therapy. Patients in both studies, SHARP and Asia Pacific, were randomized to receive either Nexavar 400 mg twice daily or placebo.

Data revealed that patients treated with the drug experienced an improvement in overall survival of 44 percent in the SHARP trial and 47 percent in the Asia Pacific trial, the companies said.