New drug from Bayer and Orion shown to delay spread of prostate cancer

Shares in Orion, which sold certain rights to the drug in a collaboration deal with Bayer in 2014, were up 7.5 per cent at 0740 GMT, while Bayer's shares were down 0.8 per cent.

German drugmaker Bayer and Finland's Orion said on Wednesday a study showed a prostate cancer drug they are jointly developing can delay the spread of the disease to other parts of the body, boosting Orion's shares.

A study on men with non-metastatic prostate cancer that could not be helped with hormonal therapy met the primary goal of showing oral drug darolutamide can delay the spread of metastases, the companies said in a statement.

Shares in Orion, which sold certain rights to the drug in a collaboration deal with Bayer in 2014, were up 7.5 per cent at 0740 GMT, while Bayer's shares were down 0.8 per cent.

Full details of the trials will be presented at a medical conference, Bayer said.

Bayer added it would now speak to health authorities about a possible request for marketing approval of darolutamide, a compound that was granted "fast track" designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the prostate cancer setting, potentially speeding the approval process.

Bayer shares slumped on Tuesday after a U.S. judge affirmed a verdict against its Monsanto unit that found glyphosate-based weedkillers responsible for a man's terminal cancer.