Threshold stock sinks on pancreatic cancer survival data

Threshold CEO Barry Selick.

The combination of an experimental drug from Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. and chemotherapy helped pancreatic cancer patients live 9.2 months in a mid-stage trial, but that wasn't a statistically significant increase from patients in the chemo-only arm of the study. Still, the South San Francisco-based biotech company (NASDAQ: THLD) said the Phase IIb trial of its drug, called TH-302, was not designed to give a definitive answer on "overall survival." What's more, it said some patients receiving gemcitabine alone were allowed to cross over to the combination therapy if their disease progressed, which contributed to an increase in survival in the chemo-only group.