Aveo, Astellas end pact to develop cancer drug tivozanib

(Reuters) – Aveo Oncology and Astellas Pharma Inc said they would end an agreement to develop Aveo's lead experimental drug that has seen a string of failures in multiple cancer indications. Aveo, which cut 62 percent of its workforce last year to focus on developing the drug, tivozanib, as a treatment for breast and colon cancers, said in December that the drug was not likely to succeed in a mid-stage trial testing its use in colon cancer. A mid-stage trial testing tivozanib as a treatment for breast cancer was stopped last month due to insufficient enrolments. Tivozanib was rejected by U.S. health regulators in June for use in kidney cancer, citing inconsistent study results.