Amgen's cancer drug meets main goal in late-stage study

(Reuters) - Amgen Inc said its drug met the main goal of improving overall survival in metastatic colorectal cancer patients who have not responded to chemotherapy. The late-stage study was testing the drug, Vectibix, in combination with best supportive care (BSC), compared with BSC alone. Patients who received 6 mg/kg of the drug every 14 days and BSC showed an improvement in survival rate, compared with BSC alone, the company said on Thursday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Vectibix in 2006 as a standalone treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer. In 2014, the drug was approved to be used, along with chemotherapy drug Folfox, as a first-line treatment for a form of metastatic colorectal cancer . In metastatic colorectal cancer, the diseased cells break away from the colon or rectum and spread to form tumors on other organs. Colorectal cancer affects about 1.2 million people worldwide each year, Amgen said. The company's shares closed up 2.8 percent at $160.12 on the Nasdaq. (Reporting by Rosmi Shaji in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Sriraj Kalluvila)