Vertex Faces Setback in Targeted Cancer Drug Program

Xconomy: "Cambridge, MA-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals yesterday announced a potentially serious setback in its program to develop novel cancer drugs aimed at a family of enzymes called the Aurora kinases. Vertex and its partner Merck have one of the most advanced drug candidates (MK-0457) in this category, which is part of an emerging “targeted” approach to cancer therapeutics that experts hope will deliver a wave of highly effective, and hugely profitable, new drugs. (Novartis’ Gleevec, for example, is a targeted cancer drug, aimed at a related enzyme, that rakes in about $2.6 billion annually.)"