(Reuters) – Eli Lilly and Co said on Tuesday that its breast cancer therapy Verzenio met the main goal of reducing the risk of it returning in the early stages in a late-stage study, sending its shares up 8.5% in pre-market trade.
The drug is already approved to treat other certain forms of breast cancer, but not for reducing the chances of cancer recurring.
Despite progress in the treatment of breast cancer, about 30% with a common subtype of early breast cancer are at risk of their cancer returning, according to Eli Lilly.
The U.S. drugmaker said it would submit the data from the trial to regulatory authorities before the end of 2020.
(Reporting by Shivani Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)
