(Reuters) – CTI Biopharma Corp said on Monday its treatment for a type of blood cancer did not meet the main goal of a late-stage trial, sending its shares down 17 percent.
The drug, Pixuvri, did not show improvement in the length of time patients survived without any progression in the disease.
CTI’s treatment was being tested in combination with Roche Holding’s Rituxan in patients with aggressive B-cell Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma affects network of vessels and glands that run throughout the body and about 168,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States and Europe every year, according to the company.
CTI said it would conduct a review of the clinical data to assess the next steps of the program.
The drugmaker did not disclose whether the drug has met the secondary goals including overall survival of the patients.
A set of positive data on overall survival would be needed to file for a potential U.S. approval of the treatment, Jefferies analyst Matthew Andrews said in a note in May.
Pixuvri is already an approved monotherapy in the European Union for treating patients with Non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma. In addition to the drug, CTI is also developing other treatments for blood-related cancers.
Shares in the Seattle, Washington-based company were trading down 17.3 percent at $4.3 before the bell.
(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru)
