Bayer, Roche test drug pair against liver cancer

FRANKFURT May 28 (Reuters) - Bayer's BAYG.DE cancer drug hopeful Nexavar will be tested in combination with Roche's (ROG.VX: Cotización) cancer drug Tarceva to combat liver cancer in a Phase III study, the companies said on Thursday.

The trial, which will involve about 700 liver-cancer patients whose tumours had started spreading, is aimed at showing that the drug combination can prolong participants lives, according to a joint statement.

Every year, more than 600,000 people are diagnosed with liver cancer globally, more than 400,000 of which are in China.

Nexavar, which has been approved for liver and kidney cancer in more than 70 countries, is Bayer's most promising pharmaceutical -- alongside anti-blood-clotting pill Xarelto -- with an annual sales potential of more than 2 billion euros ($2.78 billion).

Roche's Tarceva is approved as a treatment against pancreatic cancer in combination with chemotherapy and to combat lung cancer where chemotherapy has not helped.

Bayer, which is developing the drug with U.S. biotech partner Onyx Pharmaceuticals (ONXX.O: Cotización), is currently testing the Nexavar pill against cancers affecting the lung, thyroid and gastric tract as well as leukaemia.

Three phases are usually required before a drug can be filed for regulatory approval.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger)