News Summary: Amgen virus-vaccine shrinks tumors
News Summary: Amgen immunotherapy beats standard treatment on melanoma, may boost survival
GOOD NEWS: Drugmaker Amgen's innovative melanoma treatment shrank far more tumors than standard treatment in a late-stage test. The experimental injected drug, dubbed T-VEC, uses a modified virus as a Trojan horse to infiltrate tumors, rip cancer cells apart and make immune cells attack, too.
THE RESULTS: T-VEC made skin cancer tumors disappear or shrink for six months or more in one in six study participants — versus one in 50 given standard treatment. Longer-term survival results, due at year's end, are crucial.
THE REACTION: Amgen shares briefly jumped to an all-time high and finished up 1.8 percent at $94.05.
