Pfizer on kidney cancer drug: Extends lives of patients

NEW YORK — Pfizer got promising results from a late-stage clinical trial of a cancer treatment, the drug maker said Friday.

Pfizer announced results of the phase-3 “AXIS 1032” trial of the kidney cancer drug axitinib, saying that it “significantly” extended the lives of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma compared with Nexavar (sorafenib), made by Bayer HealthCare and Onyx Pharmaceuticals.

“It is gratifying that in this trial, axitinib provided significant benefit to patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma whose disease had progressed after first-line therapy,” said Mace Rothenberg, SVP clinical development and clinical affairs of Pfizer oncology business unit. “These results provide insight into the potential value of axitinib as part of a sequential treatment approach in patients with advanced RCC.”