OncoGenex Prostate Drug Extends Survival

A new cancer drug from OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals(OGXI) extended the survival of patients with advanced prostate cancer by almost seven months, according to results from a randomized phase II study presented Saturday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.

OncoGenex and its drug, known as OGX-011, were flying under the radar of many investors until about two weeks ago. That changed when a research abstract showing promising results for OGX-011 was released online in advance of the ASCO meeting. Soon after, Johnson & Johnson(JNJ) announced the $1 billion acquisition of Cougar Biotechnology(CGRB), another small biotech firm with a prostate cancer drug in development.

Shares of OncoGenex tripled in the past two weeks to more than $21 a share. The stock closed Friday at $17.65 as investors took profits ahead of this weekend's ASCO meeting.

The phase II study presented Saturday enrolled 82 men with advanced prostate cancer who had not yet begun chemotherapy treatment. The patients were randomized to receive either a combination of OGX-011 plus Taxotere or Taxotere alone. Taxotere is the most commonly used treatment for prostate cancer.

The median overall survival for the men treated with OGX-011 plus Taxotere was 23.8 months compared to 16.9 months for men treated with Taxotere alone -- an improvement in survival of 6.9 months favoring OGX-011.

Expressed another way, treatment with OGX-011 reduced the risk of death by 39% compared to treatment with Taxotere alone.

The survival benefit seen in the OGX-011 study was not statistically significant, although the study wasn't designed to definitively prove the drug's ability to prolong survival. The 6.9-month survival advantage was also lower than the 10-month survival benefit first reported in the ASCO research abstract published online on May 14.