Amgen announced “disappointing” results on Aug. 10 from a Phase 3 trial evaluating its drug Vectibix as a treatment for patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell head and neck cancer.

Thousand Oaks-based Amgen said the data from its study showed that adding Vectibix — the drug’s generic name is panitumumab — to chemotherapy treatment  “did not result in a statistically significant improvement in overall survival,” when compared to chemotherapy alone.

“The outcome of this study is disappointing. However, Vectibix remains an important monotherapy treatment option for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer whose disease has progressed on other therapies,” Roger Perlmutter, Amgen’s executive vice president of research and development, said in a news release.

Detailed results from the Vectibix study will be presented at the 35th European Society for Medical Oncology Congress, scheduled for Oct. 8-12 in Italy.

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