Pfizer cancer drug fails Phase III trial

Pfizer shuttered a late-stage trial of a pancreatic cancer drug after its data monitoring board determined that the treatment--designed to shrink tumors--had failed to extend patients' survival time. But Pfizer says it will continue to study axitinib's ability to treat kidney cancer. "These results were disappointing, given the trend toward prolonged survival seen in a Phase II study of axitinib in this extremely difficult-to-treat patient population," Mace Rothenberg, head of Pfizer's oncology business unit, said in a statement.

Pfizer has repeatedly failed to get once-promising drugs past Phase III. And that pipeline breakdown has triggered a restructuring at the company ahead of the scheduled loss of patent protection for Lipitor in 2011.

- here's Pfizer's release
- read the AP report

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