Bayer, Onyx Halt Nexavar Study Due to Positive Results

Based on positive clinical trial results, Bayer Healthcare and Onyx Pharmaceuticals halted a Phase III study testing kidney cancer treatment Nexavar in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or primary liver cancer, to allow all subjects in the study to receive treatment with the product, the companies announced Aug. 27.

The study, which enrolled 226 patients with advanced HCC that have not received prior chemotherapy, was conducted in China, Korea and Japan at the request of Asian health authorities to gauge the effect of Nexavar (sorafenib) in that population, the firms said.

Overall survival, progression-free survival and time-to-progression were endpoints in the study. Compared with placebo, those measures were significantly improved for patients receiving Nexavar.