Cyramza, key to Lilly's oncology hopes, comes through in colorectal cancer

Eli Lilly's ($LLY) Cyramza (ramucirumab) met its primary endpoint in a study on metastatic colorectal cancer, good news for a key cog in the drugmaker's plans to capitalize on oncology. The drug, approved earlier this year for stomach cancer, beat out chemotherapy alone in improving overall survival among patients who failed first-line treatment, the company said, clearing the way for a supplementary FDA application in the first half of next year. Lilly's blockbuster hopes for ramucirumab rest on its ability to pull off a string of Phase III victories. Aside from its success in gastric and colorectal malignancies, the drug has charted a marginal benefit in lung cancer and endured late-stage setbacks in liver and breast cancers. More