Eli Lilly says late-stage trial of breast cancer treatment failed to meet goals .

Published: Aug 10, 2016 .

Eli Lilly and Co. shares LLY, -1.31% tumbled almost 6% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the company said a second late-stage trial of a breast cancer treatment failed to meet its goals. The phase 3 trial compared abemaciclib plus fulvestrant versus placebo with fulvestrant in women with hormone-receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. The trial, which involved 142 sites worldwide, failed to meet efficacy criteria. "We had stringent criteria set for this interim analysis and we look forward to receiving the final MONARCH 2 results in the first half of 2017," said Richard Gaynor, M.D., senior vice president, product development and medical affairs for Lilly Oncology. "We remain optimistic that treatment with abemaciclib, in combination with fulvestrant could offer improved outcomes for patients." The trial will continue into the first half of 2017. Lilly shares are down 3% in the year to date, underperforming the S&P 500 SPX, -0.31% which has gained about 7%.

...