Strong data on PharmaMar/J&J's Yondelis reported at ASCO 2006

Spanish drugmaker PharmaMar reported strong data on its anticancer drug candidate Yondelis (trabectedin) at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held in Atlanta, Georgia. The agent, which is also being developed by USA-based Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, demonstrated activity in specific types of advanced sarcomas, according to data from a compassionate-use study of 44 patients with advanced myxoid liposarcomas. PharmaMar said that the results indicate significant evidence of Yondelis' antitumor activity in this specific patient population with long-lasting objective remissions and tumor control in 86% of patients, as well as dimensional regression (tumor shrinkage) in 62% of responders. In a separate presentation at the ASCO, data collected from an analysis of tumor samples of sarcoma patients indicate that those with efficient TC-NER DNA repair machinery have a better outcome on Yondelis in terms of progression-free and overall survival.