British Biotech Share Price Falls After Marimastat Data

The UK company British Biotech presented further results with its anticancer drug marimastat at the 21st Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Vienna, Austria on November 2-5, 1996. Investors, however, appeared disappointed and the firm's share price fell from 229 pence ($3.77) to 207.5 pence on the day.

Gastric Cancer Data Simon Parsons et al of the Queens Medical Center, Nottingham, UK, presented results with marimastat in patients with inoperable gastric cancer. Of the 14 evaluable patients, who each received 50mg twice daily for 28 days, adverse reactions of musculoskeletal pain and edema were noted. This was lessened in patients who were administered the 25mg dose once daily. Seven of the patients, two of whom received 50mg bd and five who received 25mg od, saw disease stabilization (ie no tumor growth) over the 28-day period, and are still receiving the treatment. The researchers conclude that the use of marimastat in gastric cancer is best-tolerated at the lower dose and demonstrates potential in this indication. British Biotech has said that the initiation of a 300-patient trial in gastric cancer is imminent.

A second trial assessed the efficacy of marimastat in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. John Primrose and his team of the Southampton General Hospital in the UK, saw signs of activity in 10 of the 28 patients who were receiving between 10mg bd and 50mg bd, compared to patients on 5mg od and 10mg od who fared less well, with only one of 14 patients (7%) demonstrating any biological activity, defined as a drop in serum CEA levels. A small number of patients dropped out of the trial due to dose-related musculoskeletal pain. A correlation between the reduced cancer antigen rise and survival was noted, says the company.