Lyn­parza fails a PhI­II test in col­orec­tal can­cer, cut­ting off big R&D av­enue for Mer­ck and As­traZeneca

As As­traZeneca and Mer­ck look to con­tin­ue build­ing out their Lyn­parza fran­chise, one can­cer type is prov­ing too tough a nut to crack.

The Big Phar­ma part­ners re­port­ed Tues­day morn­ing that a Phase III tri­al eval­u­at­ing Lyn­parza in col­orec­tal can­cer as both a monother­a­py and in com­bi­na­tion with Avastin was stopped ear­ly due to fu­til­i­ty. The move comes af­ter the da­ta mon­i­tor­ing com­mit­tee re­viewed da­ta for a planned in­ter­im analy­sis. Both drug arms will be dis­con­tin­ued, the com­pa­nies said.

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