The FDA has placed a temporary hold on a phase 1 trial of a cancer medication being developed by Mersana Therapeutics. The company reported that the agency made the decision to look into a patient death that could be tied to the treatment.
The study is for an experimental drug called XMT-1522, which targets advanced tumors in patients with lung, breast and stomach cancers. At this time, no new patients will be enrolled in the study but patients already enrolled in the study will still receive the drug.
Mersana also has another early study underway for a different experimental treatment.
Upon news of the patient death, shares for Mersana fell by about 40 percent.