Lilly’s Cyramza prolongs survival in advanced colon cancer patients

The colorectal cancer drug Cyramza improved the survival of advanced stomach cancer patients on chemotherapy in a Phase III study, drug manufacturer Lilly announced on Friday. Though the Indianapolis-based company did not detail the statistical difference between patients who were given the drug and those who got chemotherapy and a placebo, the results were promising enough that Lilly declared it would request regulators to approve the medication in the first half of 2015 for patients with colon cancer that has metastasized to other areas of the body. Cyramza has already been approved by the FDA for a type of advanced stomach cancer or a cancer that forms where the esophagus joins the stomach.

In the late-stage study, known as RAISE, 1,000 patients who had not responded to Roche Holding AG’s ROG.VX Avastin and other current treatments were administered either Cyramza or a placebo together with chemotherapy. Like Avastin, Cyramza works by inhibiting a protein known as VEGF that cancerous tumors produce to create blood vessels in order to nourish themselves. Financial services firm Cowen and Co. predicts that the medication will amass $1.2 billion in sales by 2020 as a therapy for several forms of cancer.

JPMorgan analyst Chris Schott was less optimistic and said in a research note that Cyramza will reap $1.35 in sales by the same date, mainly as a stomach cancer treatment but also modestly as a lung cancer and second-line colon cancer treatment. Lilly, which shares went up 2 cents the New York Stock Exchange on Friday morning, is confident its pipeline of developing drugs will compensate for the losses incurred due to the patents of flagship products like Cymbalta expiring.

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