GSK’s breast cancer drug Tykerb fails in gastric cancer study

GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) intentions to expand the indication of personalised cancer drug Tyverb/ Tykerb took a blow when it failed to hit its target in a late-stage trial investigating its use in the treatment of gastric cancer.

The pharma company said that when used in combination with chemotherapy, the drug did not meet its primary endpoint of improved overall survival compared to chemotherapy alone in patients with an HER2-positive advanced form of the condition.

The difference in median overall survival between the two arms was just 1.7 months in favour of patients on Tyverb/ Tykerb (lapatinib).