Details matter to ridaforolimus story

While ridaforolimus has produced statistically significant top line Phase III data in metastatic sarcoma, partners Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Merck & Co. Inc. still may have to convince regulators, prescribers and payers that a 3.1-week increase in median progression-free survival vs. placebo is also clinically significant. The companies hope to receive additional ammunition this year, when detailed results from the trial emerge.

Sarcoma is a heterogeneous group of cancers originating in the soft tissue or bone. Patients with metastatic sarcoma face a poor prognosis, as the only approved treatments are chemotherapeutics that tend to produce a clinical response rate of about 20%...