News Summary: Amgen virus-vaccine shrinks tumors

GOOD NEWS: Drugmaker Amgen’s innovative melanoma treatment shrank far more tumors than standard treatment in a late-stage test. The experimental injected drug, dubbed T-VEC, uses a modified virus as a Trojan horse to infiltrate tumors, rip cancer cells apart and make immune cells attack, too.

THE RESULTS: T-VEC made skin cancer tumors disappear or shrink for six months or more in one in six study participants _ versus one in 50 given standard treatment. Longer-term survival results, due at year’s end, are crucial.

THE REACTION: Amgen shares briefly jumped to an all-time high and finished up 1.8 percent at $94.05.