CancerVax to discuss failed skin cancer vacc

US biotechnology firm CancerVax Corp says that data from the Phase III clinical trials of its discontinued Canvaxin in the treatment of advanced-stage melanoma will be presented at the Society for Surgical Oncology's Annual Meeting in San Diego, California.

Last year, CancerVax' share price tumbled 60% after it abandoned the skin cancer vaccine, its lead candidate, on disappointing trial data (Marketletter November 14, 2005) and the presentation will clarify the firm's position.

The firm says that the presentation concludes that, while Canvaxin was well tolerated and there was little difference in adverse events between the two study arms, it did not demonstrate efficacy in the studied indication. However, the firm noted that the median survival in the clinical trial with Canvaxin in patients with Stage III melanoma and the study in Stage IV melanoma are better than or comparable to the median survival in earlier published results of large, multicenter studies with similar patient groups.