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Novartis (NVS) Zykadia Positive in Phase III ASCEND-4 Study

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Novartis AG (NVS - Free Report) announced results from the phase III ASCEND-4 study on its oncology drug, Zykadia, for the treatment of patients with advanced anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive (ALK+) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

A look at Novartis’ year-to-date share price movement shows that the stock has underperformed the Zacks classified Large Cap Pharma industry. The stock has lost 19.9% so far this year, which compares unfavorably with the 8.2% fall for the industry.



Coming back to the latest news, results from the ASCEND-4 study demonstrated that patients treated with first-line Zykadia experienced an improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) compared to standard first-line chemotherapy with maintenance.

Results were presented at the World Conference on Lung Cancer.

Note that Zykadia was granted accelerated approval in the U.S. in Apr 2014 for the treatment of patients with ALK+ metastatic NSCLC, who have progressed on or are intolerant to Pfizer Inc.’s (PFE - Free Report) Xalkori. In the EU, Zykadia was granted conditional approval in May 2015 for the treatment of adults with ALK+ advanced NSCLC, who were previously treated with Xalkori.

The lung cancer market is highly crowded with drugs like Opdivo, Keytruda, Tarceva, Xalkori and Taxotere among others.

In a separate press release, Novartis announced that Lucentis has been approved in the EU for in an additional indication – visual impairment due to choroidal neovascularization associated with causes other than neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), or secondary to pathologic myopia.

We remind investors that Novartis has a collaboration agreement with Roche Holding AG (RHHBY - Free Report) for Lucentis. While Roche holds the commercial rights in the U.S., Novartis owns the rights in ex-U.S. countries.

Note that Lucentis is currently approved in the U.S. for wet AMD, macular edema after retinal vein occlusion, diabetic macular edema (DME), and diabetic retinopathy in DME patients.

NOVARTIS AG-ADR Price and Consensus

 

NOVARTIS AG-ADR Price and Consensus | NOVARTIS AG-ADR Quote

Novartis currently has Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

A Key Pick in the Sector

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a better-ranked stock in the health care sector, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Sucampo’s earnings estimates increased from $1.03 to $1.22 for 2016 and from $1.30 to $1.58 for 2017 over the last 60 days. The company posted a positive surprise in all of the four trailing quarters with an average beat of 35.55%.

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