New Lung Cancer Drug Flops in Trials

Cancer drug producer Roche Holding AG of Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. has halted clinical trials of an experimental lung cancer drug after it repeatedly failed to show positive results during testing.

The drug onartuzumab, called MetMab, was designed to help treat lung cancer when combined with traditional treatment options. However, the drug's most recent slew of testing had shown that it wasn't working in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

This comes as disappointment to medical professionals and Roche share holders alike, who were optimistic about the drug's market success, as there are so few treatments for lung cancer currently in the U.S. Had it been successful, MetMab would have increased the availability of lung cancer treatment options across several countries including the U.S. The drug was also speculated to be a potential blockbuster, making huge sale numbers on its release, and lining Roche's pockets in the process.

Still, according to several business media outlets, Roche investors had long thought of MetMab as a long-shot, and abandoning plans for the drug will not be seen as a considerable set-back.

Clinical trials and testing of the lung cancer treatment drug were halted earlier last week after an unnamed third-party monitoring committee who was observing the trails recommended that no further testing needed to be done, as the drug consistently performed poorly.

Roche, who deals in unpredictable and experimental treatment options for serious illness, has a long-standing history of disappointing drug trials.

Last month, Roche's promising cancer fighting drug Avastin showed mixed results, effectively preventing the spread of cancer in cervical cancer, but failing to do the same for gioblastomas.

An update on the MetMab study was published by Roche Holding AG on March 3.