German pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced Tuesday that Nexavar, a drug approved to treat liver and kidney cancer, failed to meet its endpoint goal in a Phase III study on its effectiveness in increasing survival rate in lung cancer patients.

The study, entitled The MISSION, is an international multicenter study conducted on about 700 randomized patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease progressed after two or three weeks. Nexavar patients were compared to a placebo group, both receiving plus supportive care.

No improvement was seen in a secondary goal of progression-free survival, a measurement of time from the start of treatment until a patient’s cancer begins to advance again or causes death, while on Nexavar.

“While we are disappointed that the primary endpoint was not met, we believe the study results will advance the scientific knowledge in lung cancer,” said Dimitris Voliotis, Bayer Healthcare vice president of clinical oncology.

Lung cancer is a global problem, affecting 1.2 million people every year. Approximately 85 to 95 percent of lung cancer cases are NSCLC, a disease that occurs when malignant cancer cells form in lung tissue.

Bayer Healthcare is a U.S. based subsidiary of Bayer AG. It recently settled about 500 of 11,000 lawsuits brought forth by women who say their oral contraceptive Yaz causes pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, and a combination called venous thrombosis. These are all serious blood clot related conditions that can lead to stroke, heart attack, and death.

If you have taken Yaz and suffered from any of the conditions above, it is highly recommended that you speak with an attorney today to see if you qualify for settlement.