J&J cancer pill Zytiga meets goal in new study

NEW YORK — Johnson & Johnson said Thursday that its prostate cancer pill Zytiga improved survival and delayed the progression of cancer in patients who had not been treated with chemotherapy.

The company said patients who were treated with Zytiga and a steroid survived longer than patients treated with a placebo and the steroid, and it said the Zytiga patients also lived longer before either death or disease progression. Zytiga also met secondary goals in the study, and the independent monitoring committee recommended the results from the study be released and that patients who were taking the placebo be offered Zytiga.

Zytiga was approved in April as a treatment for men with prostate cancer who have already undergone chemotherapy.

Johnson & Johnson did not report specific results from the study. The New Brunswick, N.J., company plans to present the data at a future medical meeting and file for a broader marketing approval of Zytiga in the U.S. and other markets in the second half of 2012.

The news hammered shares of Dendreon Corp., which makes the prostate cancer therapy Provenge. Provenge was approved in April 2010, and the injection is designed to train the immune system to fight cancer. Shares of the Seattle company plunged $1.65, or 15.2 percent, to $9.21 in morning trading. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $6.46 to $43.96.

Johnson & Johnson shares rose 59 cents to $64.89.