Phase 3 Trial Shows Denosumab Delayed Skeletal Related Events in Advanced Cancer Patients With Bone ...( THOUSAND OAKS Calif...),Health

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) today announced detailed results from a Phase 3 trial evaluating denosumab administered subcutaneously versus Zometa(R) (zoledronic acid) administered as an intravenous infusion in the treatment of bone metastases in 1,776 advanced cancer patients with solid tumors (not including breast and prostate cancer) or multiple myeloma. These results were presented today at the 2009 ECCO 15 - ESMO 34 European Multidisciplinary Congress in Berlin, Germany (Abstract Number: 20LBA).

For the primary endpoint of this study, the median time to first on-study skeletal related event (SRE) (fracture, radiation to bone, surgery to bone, or spinal cord compression) was 20.6 months for those patients receiving denosumab and 16.3 months for those patients receiving Zometa (hazard ratio 0.84, 95 percent CI: 0.71-0.98), which is statistically significant for non-inferiority (p=0.0007). Although numerically greater, the delay in the time to first SRE associated with denosumab was not statistically superior compared to Zometa based upon the statistical testing strategy (adjusted p=0.06) (secondary endpoint). The time to first-and-subsequent SRE was also numerically greater but not statistically superior compared to Zometa (hazard ratio 0.90, 95 percent CI: 0.77-1.04, p=0.14) (secondary endpoint).

"It is encouraging to see denosumab's efficacy in this broad cancer population. There is no need for renal monitoring or dose adjustments due to renal impairment," said David Henry, M.D., clinical professor of Medicine, Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, United States of America. "Furthermore, the positive results of this study, combined with the convenience of a monthly subcutaneous injection and without the fl
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