The value of Pfizer stock shot up yesterday, following good news about a drug that was developed in La Jolla. The company says the next step is FDA approval. KPBS Reporter Tom Fudge has more.
Sutent is a drug that's been tested to treat an unusual form of pancreatic cancer, called eyelet cell cancer. And the drug has done very well in clinical trials. So well, in fact, that an independent board called for the trials to end so patients, taking the placebo, could start taking Sutent. That news was followed by a dramatic 10 percent increase in the stock value of Pfizer, which makes the drug. Sutent was clinically developed by researchers in Pfizer's La Jolla campus. The form of cancer examined in the trial has afflicted, among others, Apple CEO Steven Jobs. Sutent has already been approved for advanced liver cancer. Pfizer officials now say they'll apply to the FDA for approval for use in pancreatic cancer. Tom Fudge, KPBS News.
