Amgen ends rilotumumab for gastric cancer

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) terminated all company-sponsored clinical trials of rilotumumab to treat advanced gastric cancer after an independent data monitoring committee found an increase in deaths among patients treated with rilotumumab plus chemotherapy vs. those receiving chemotherapy alone in a Phase III trial.

Rilotumumab is a human mAb against human hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor ( HGF/SF). It was one of five compounds put into the Amgen Astellas BioPharma K.K. joint venture created last year in Japan with Astellas Pharma Inc.(Tokyo:4503), and underwent a Phase I trial in Japan (see BioCentury, June 17, 2013). ...