FDA Staff Questions Benefits of Glaxo, Merck Cancer Drugs

GlaxoSmithKline Plc. and Merck & Co. and Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s drugs for a rare, often deadly form of cancer may not offer enough benefits to be worth risks including heart and kidney ailments, U.S. regulators said.

While Votrient from London-based Glaxo kept sarcoma from spreading in soft tissue, it didn’t prolong patients’ lives, Food and Drug Administration staff wrote in a report today. Ridaforolimus, developed by Merck and Ariad, didn’t keep patients alive longer or stop progression of the disease, according to an FDA report.