Ariad gets $2.5M milestone from Merck & Co for initiating Ph II deforolimus trial

The USA's Ariad Pharmaceuticals has received a $2.5 million milestone payment from Merck & Co for moving a cancer drug covered by their accord into mid-stage trials. The randomized, multicenter, Phase II study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of oral deforolimus, its investigational mTOR inhibitor, in patients with advanced endometrial cancer. Together with Merck, the agent is currently being studied in multiple clinical trials by Ariad, both alone and in combination with other therapies, in patients with several different types of cancer. This latest trial will compare single-agent oral deforolimus to progestin in 150 patients with metastatic or recurrent endometrial cancer following first-line chemotherapy. The primary endpoint for the study is progression-free survival. Enrollment is expected to be completed by the second half of 2009.