Amgen researchers say cancer drug more effective when paired with other drugs

NEW YORK A cancer-fighting drug by Amgen may kill tumors better if combined with other cancer drugs, one of the company’s scientists said Tuesday, according to Reuters.

Speaking at the Reuters Health Summit, scientist Glenn Begley said the drug, AMG 386, was one of the company’s most promising. The company has tested the drug with Nexavar (sorafenib), by Bayer and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, and Genentech’s Avastin (bevacizumab), as well as its own AMG 706, known generically as motesanib.

The drug prevents blood vessels from developing, which starves tumors of the blood they need to survive and grow.