Servier’s Experimental Drug Slows Deadly Brain Tumor in Trial

A French drug developer’s experimental therapy slowed the progression of a type of brain cancer by more than 16 months on average, results that could lead to one of the first targeted therapies for the most common form of the tumor in adults younger than age 50.

Closely held Servier Group’s drug held up growth of the tumor, called low-grade glioma, for a median 27.7 months, according to results released Sunday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, compared to 11.1 months for patients who received a placebo. The drug also postponed the time until patients needed additional treatment, such as chemotherapy or radiation, a key secondary goal. So far, most patients who were received Servier’s drug haven’t needed any additional treatment, according to results also being published in the New England Journal of Medicine.