(Reuters) - An independent committee recommended a late stage trial of a cancer drug developed by Pharmacyclics Inc and Johnson & Johnson be stopped early as it became clear it helped patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) live longer, paving the way for additional approval of the medicine.
The announcement of the study's early success by Pharmacyclics on Tuesday sent its shares soaring 20 percent higher and took J&J shares up by nearly 2 percent.
The independent monitoring committee, upon reviewing interim results of the trial called Resonate, unanimously recommended it be stopped as ibrutinib was deemed assured of meeting both the primary goal of significantly delaying progression of the disease and the secondary goal of extending survival in patients with relapsed CLL compared with those taking GlaxoSmithKline's Azerra (ofatumumab).
The committee also recommended that ibrutinib be made available to patients taking the Glaxo drug in the study.
