Telik Inc

Telik Inc. said Tuesday that its experimental cancer drug failed to improve survival in patients with advanced lung cancer or in patients with ovarian cancer, sending its stock plunging more than 70%. The Palo Alto-based biotechnology company said a late-stage, or Phase III, trial of its most advanced drug, Telcyta, didn't significantly improve survival in patients with advanced lung cancer who had failed other treatments.

Telik Inc. said Tuesday that its experimental cancer drug failed to improve survival in patients with advanced lung cancer or in patients with ovarian cancer, sending its stock plunging more than 70%. The Palo Alto-based biotechnology company said a late-stage, or Phase III, trial of its most advanced drug, Telcyta, didn't significantly improve survival in patients with advanced lung cancer who had failed other treatments.

The annual meeting of the nation's cancer specialists, one of the largest and most closely watched medical gatherings of the year, often gives biotechnology stocks a fillip. Not this year. More bad news from ImClone Systems Inc., whose drug Erbitux failed in a mid-stage trial to halt or reverse the course of head and neck cancer, sent its shares tumbling $2.29, or 17%, to $11.12 on Monday.