Curis cancer drug put on partial hold after patient death

(Reuters) - Curis Inc said it had been stopped from enrolling any new patients in an early stage trial of its experimental cancer drug following the death of a patient who had liver failure. Curis's shares fell 10 percent in premarket trading after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration placed a partial hold on the trial. The company said the FDA was seeking additional data on patients treated with the drug, CUDC-427. Curis said it expects to respond to the agency's requests in a timely manner. The early-stage trial was initiated in the third quarter of 2013 in patients with advanced solid tumors or lymphomas. One patient with advanced breast cancer developed what the company said were "serious adverse events" related to liver function. The patient died of liver failure about one month after the treatment was discontinued, Curis said. The company also reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss on Wednesday. Curis shares closed at $3.89 on Tuesday on the Nasdaq. (Reporting by Esha Dey in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)