Medigen Biotechnology Corp (基亞生技) said it would continue to seek European partners to develop its new liver cancer drug, PI-88, after failing to yield positive results in a phase III clinical trial.
On Tuesday, Medigen said that among the 519 people taking part in the study, the 258 who were administered PI-88 did not produce a statistically significant improvement in disease-free survival against a control group of 261 who were given a placebo.
The outcome is the same as an interim study conducted by the company in 2014.
Despite the setback, the company said that the drug had shown more favorable results among people with microvascular invasion, a prognosis factor for liver cancer.
The company said that people with microvascular invasion accounted for 41 percent of those who participated in the study, and that the sub-group of patients had shown more favorable results that were close to meeting what is deemed statistically significant.
The study also showed that the drug had an acceptable safety profile in terms of side effects and toxicity, the company said.
The company will conduct further studies on the drug as a treatment for the specific sub-group of liver cancer patients with microvascular invasion, Medigen chairman Stanley Chang (張世忠) said.
Medigen shares yesterday tumbled for a second consecutive day, dropping 5.39 percent to NT$64.90, following a 10 percent fall on Wednesday.
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