GSK pulls bid to extend use of kidney drug to ovarian cancer

LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline on Monday withdrew an application to use Votrient, a drug licensed for kidney cancer, to treat advanced ovarian cancer after analysis of data from a late-stage trial did not support the benefit-to-risk ratio. The British company said it was disappointed by the findings of the further analysis, which came after it found the drug caused an improvement in progression-free survival in its Phase III study. GSK, which had applied for approval in Europe, said it would also not continue to develop the drug for advanced ovarian cancer in other countries. Votrient, which has the chemical name pazopanib, has been approved by many regulators as a treatment for advanced kidney cancer and some types of soft cell sarcomas. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by David Goodman)