Prostate cancer drug, Omnitarg by Genentech falls short

Research into an experimental prostate cancer drug being developed by Genentech Inc. will probably be abandoned after scientists found that the drug failed to prove effective in a mid-stage trial.

The clinical researchers say the drug, Omnitarg is not worth pursuing as a single agent as it failed to work in a Phase II trial of patients with prostate cancer. The patients had never had chemotherapy and their cancer was not controlled by the drugs used to diminish levels of the male hormone testosterone that fuels the disease.

The data was presented by researcher Johann de Bono of Britain's Royal Marsden Hospital and European colleagues, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

The team said they had found insufficient evidence that the drug works to warrant continuing with its development as a single agent. They say it is possible that it could be used in combination with other drugs or with a different group of patients, and they are looking into that.

Genentech is majority owned by Roche of Switzerland.