Novelos Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB: NVLT), a biopharmaceutical
company focused on the development of therapeutics to treat cancer and
hepatitis, today announced that primary and secondary endpoints were not
met in Novelos’ pivotal Phase 3 trial in advanced non-small cell lung
cancer (NSCLC) with its lead product, NOV-002, in combination with
first-line chemotherapy. Adding NOV-002 to paclitaxel and carboplatin
chemotherapy was not statistically or meaningfully different in terms of
efficacy-related endpoints or recovery from chemotherapy toxicity versus
chemotherapy alone. NOV-002 was safe, as it did not add to the overall
toxicity of chemotherapy. Detailed trial results are expected to be
presented at the 2010 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical
Oncology (ASCO) taking place June 4-8 in Chicago, Illinois.
“We designed and executed a robust Phase 3 NSCLC trial, but
disappointingly, NOV-002 did not work in this very difficult to treat
indication in combination with this chemotherapy”