Medivation, Astellas Prostate Cancer Drug Helps Men Live Longer; Shares Skyrocket
Summary
Medivation, Astellas Prostate Cancer Drug Helps Men Live Longer; Shares Skyrocket Xconomy San Francisco — [Updated: 7:10 am PT] San Francisco-based Medivation has some big news to report today with a prostate cancer drug candidate that has been shown to prolong lives.Medivation (NASDAQ: MDVN) and its partner, Japan-based Astellas Pharma, said today that their experimental drug MDV3100 was able to prolong lives of men with advanced prostate cancer by a median time of 4.8 months compared with a placebo.The Medivation drug, an oral pill, is designed to target prostate cancer cells that become resistant to standard hormone-deprivation therapies, which are supposed to cut off the fuel that testosterone provides tumors to grow.About 30,000 men in the U.S. die each year from prostate cancer, and the numbers are expected to increase as baby boomers get this common disease of aging.“If approved, MDV3100 will be a welcome option for men with prostate cancers that have progressed on hormones and initial chemotherapy.” [Updated comment from analyst] JP Morgan Geoff Meacham that Wall Street was expecting the Medivation drug to extend survival by a median of about three months, according to Reuters.