Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

A recent report on Forbes.com said clinical trials are validating the success of the drug Alimta in treating patients with non-small cell lung cancer, providing hope for cancer patients and a jump in stock prices for the drug’s manufacturer, Eli Lilly and Co. The drug also has been approved as a treatment for mesothelioma.

While mesothelioma is not always classified as “lung cancer,” it most often affects the lining of the chest cavity and lungs. Caused exclusively by exposure to asbestos, mesothelioma also may affect the lining of the abdomen or, in rare instance, the heart.

Alimta’s clinical trial invovled 663 patients. The drug was given to patients whose cancer had not progressed after initial chemotherapy treatments. According to the story on Forbes.com, patients treated with Alimta lived an average of three months longer than those who did not receive the drug.

Although the drug is approved to treat mesothelioma, it does not appear that this particular study provides data regarding mesothelioma patients who have been receiving Alimta.

Results of the study were published in The Lancet medical journal. As a result of the study’s findings, Forebes. com reports, Lilly shares rose 9 cents to $32.95.

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