Drug compound shows positive results for treating nausea in cancer patients

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. A phase III study comparing the efficacy of an experimental drug for chemotherapy-induced nausea to that of a drug already on the market has yielded positive results, the drug’s maker announced Tuesday.

A.P. Pharma said the study, which administered the compound APF530 to 1,395 patients in the United States, Poland and India, was more effective than Aloxi and that the 10 mg dose of the experimental drug provided greater efficacy and similar side effects to the 5 mg dose. The drug is a formulation of granisetron.

The company plans to submit an approval application to the Food and Drug Administration in the next three months.