| ■ Clinical Trial Ended for Prostate Cancer Vaccine | 2008.09.01 |
| Biotech startup Cell Genesys has ended a clinical study of its prostate cancer vaccine GVAX due to a rise in deaths among users of the vaccine compared with those taking another drug, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. "What we do not know is the reason for the imbalance in deaths," Cell Genesys CEO Stephen Sherwin was quoted as saying. He labeled the interim trial results "very disappointing and surprising news." The Phase III trial of the vaccine had begun in 2005. Of 408 people with spreading (metastatic) prostate cancer who participated in the trial, 114 had died. Sixty-seven of those deaths involved people using GVAX and the chemotherapy drug Taxotere, while the other 47 deaths involved people taking Taxotere and the corticosteroid prednisone, the newspaper said. Another trial, which will continue, uses GVAX by itself. Participants in that trial are said to be generally healthier than those in the discontinued study, the Chronicle reported. ----- |