By Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Bayer said a therapy mix including its Nubeqa drug was shown to significantly prolong the lives of men suffering from metastatic prostate cancer in a clinical study, underpinning prospects for the drug to become a major sales driver.
Nubeqa, when combined with standard therapy, reduced the risk of dying during the trial period by 32.5% in a comparison to standard therapy alone, the German company said in a statement on Thursday, citing trial results.
Nubeqa, also known as darolutamide and jointly developed with Finnish drugmaker Orion, is already approved in non-metastatic prostate cancer that cannot be treated with standard hormone therapy, and the new results point to a larger market opportunity if regulators clear the wider use.
Bayer, which is paying billions to settle U.S. claims its Roundup weedkiller caused cancer, needs to strengthen its drug development pipeline as its two pharmaceutical best-sellers, stroke prevention pill Xarelto and eye drug Eylea, face a decline in sales in a few years.
Nubeqa is one of three Bayer pharmaceuticals that the company expects to generate more than $1 billion in peak annual sales, known in the industry as blockbusters, alongside kidney disease treatment finerenone and menopausal symptoms relief elinzanetant.
The trial’s overall success was announced in December and detailed results were published in The New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday.
(Editing by Miranda Murray)
