Roche immune therapy cancer drug shows promise in early study

By Bill Berkrot (Reuters) – An experimental drug that spurs the immune system to fight cancer appeared to be safe and demonstrated anti-tumor activity against a variety of cancers in a small early stage study, researchers said on Tuesday. The drug, called MPDL320A, was discovered and is being developed by Roche's Genentech unit. The Phase 1 trial of the drug in 30 patients with advanced cancer was designed as a dose escalation study to test for toxicity at higher doses. But researchers were also pleased to find early signs of effectiveness of the drug. …