That was the lead headline screaming from my intelligence database this morning, from several sources. On checking the Pfizer website, to verify the information, I found the following in a terse press release : “Pfizer Inc announced today the discontinuation of the SUN 1122 Phase 3 trial that evaluated Sutent ® (sunitinib malate) plus FOLFIRI (irinotecan plus infusional 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin) versus FOLFIRI alone for the first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). The independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) found that the addition of sunitinib to the chemotherapy regimen FOLFIRI would be unable to demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS) compared to FOLFIRI alone, in this study. No new safety issues were identified.” It would therefore seem that small molecule TKI’s are not the way to go with this disease given that Novartis’ vatalanib also failed in phase III trials of a similar nature. Genentech’s Avastin acts differently, targeting the outside of the receptor as a monoclonal antibody.
See the original post here:
Pfizer discontinues Sutent in colorectal cancer