Abgenix Says Drug Is Effective Against Kidney Cancer

ORLANDO, Fla. -- An experimental, targeted cancer drug from Abgenix(ABGX Quote) appears to be effective in helping some patients with advanced kidney cancer, one of the most stubborn, difficult-to-treat cancers out there.

The Fremont, Calif.-based biotech firm reported positive findings on Tuesday from a phase II clinical trial of the drug, known as ABX-EGF, at the meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. ABX-EGF is among a closely watched class of drugs that attempts to halt the growth of cancer cells by blocking a key enzyme, epidermal growth factor receptor. ImClone Systems (IMCL Quote), AstraZeneca (AZN Quote), Genentech (DNA Quote) and OSI Pharmaceuticals (OSIP Quote) are all working on similar new drugs.

These so-called EGF inhibitors are being tested against a wide variety of cancers, but so far only ABX-EGF has shown significant results in treating kidney cancer. A small study testing AstraZeneca's Iressa on patients with advanced kidney cancer, reported at the ASCO meeting on Sunday, yielded no positive results. ImClone's drug, Erbitux, hasn't had much luck against the cancer either. ...