Exelixis, Bristol-Myers Squibb call clinical trial results 'encouraging'

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. A phase 2 trial of an investigational brain cancer drug has yielded results the makers of the drug called “encouraging” in a study presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Exelixis and Bristol-Myers Squibb announced Sunday the results of a 46-patient trial of the oral pharmaceutical compound XL184 in patients with previously treated glioblastoma multiforme. The companies said 12 patients had tumor shrinkage of 50% or more.

“These initial data from our ongoing GBM program are encouraging and suggest that XL184 could have utility in this underserved indication,” Exelixis president of research and development Michael Morrissey said. “We believe that these data support continued evaluation of XL184 in patients with GBM, and we intend to enroll additional patients in this study to better assess the compound’s anti-tumor activity and safety profile in this difficult-to-treat patient population.”