GlaxoSmithKline Drug Fails to Hit Goal in Breast Cancer Trial

GlaxoSmithKline has suffered a setback with the news that Tykerb has failed a late-stage study investigating whether adjuvant treatment with the drug will improve disease-free survival in women with early-stage HER2 positive breast cancer. Results have been presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium from TEACH, a Phase III trial designed to evaluate the effects of Tykerb/Tyverb (lapatinib) monotherapy when given to women who were diagnosed with HER2 positive breast cancer, had received treatment, but not Roche's rival drug Herceptin (trastuzumab), and remained disease free. The primary objective of the study, which involved over 3,000 women, was to compare DFS between women receiving lapatinib and those receiving placebo.

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