Targeted failure of the week. Post No 25. Masitinib.

A new week - a new failure of targeted medicine. This time we have another targeted candidate - Tyrosine kinase inhibitor Masitinib:

AB Science S.A. (Euronext:AB) reported late Tuesday that masitinib plus Gemzar gemcitabine missed the primary endpoint of median overall survival (OS) vs. placebo plus Gemzar in a Phase III trial to treat pancreatic cancer (7.7 vs. 7 months, p=0.74).

Well, game with masitinib over? Never! AB Science does not give up! The company desperately tries to find something positive in the situation:

In a subgroup of patients with an undisclosed genetic biomarker that the company said is indicative of aggressive disease progression, masitinib plus Gemzar significantly improved median OS vs. placebo plus Gemzar (11 vs. 5 months, p=0.000038). In a second subgroup of patients with a pain intensity level above an undisclosed threshold at baseline, masitinib plus Gemzar also significantly improved median OS vs. placebo plus Gemzar (8.1 vs. 5.4 months, p=0.01). AB Science could not be reached for details.

And I suspect that the key words here: “AB Science could not be reached for details”.

Well, who fails next?