Exelixis Falls On New Data For Brain Cancer Drug

MARLEY SEAMAN

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Exelixis Inc. fell Monday after the company reported new data from a trial of a drug it is developing as a treatment for brain cancer.

Exelixis is testing a drug candidate designated XL184 on patients with glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive cancer. The company said 46 patients have been enrolled so far in the mid-stage trial, but the results were not up to Wall Street's expectations. In afternoon trading, its shares fell 38 cents, or 6.9 percent, to $5.17.

On Sunday, Exelixis said 31 of the 46 patients had previously been treated with anti-angiogenic drugs, which are intended to prevent tumors from growing new blood vessels. A total of seven of those patients, or 23 percent, had a partial response, which means their tumors shrank.

The data was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Orlando.

In a summary of its presentation, the company had suggested a "much higher response rate," said Merriman Curhan Ford analyst Joe Pantginis in a telephone interview. Exelixis' abstract says 10 patients, or 38 percent of the subjects, had their tumors shrink by at least 50 percent.