ZURICH (REUTERS) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis said on Saturday (Aug 22) that its investigational spartalizumab immuno-oncology drug mixed with the approved medicines Tafinlar and Mekinist failed in a late-stage trial for a type of advanced skin cancer.

The drug did not improve progression-free survival in previously untreated patients with Braf V600 mutation-positive cutaneous melanoma, compared with Tafinlar + Mekinist alone, Novartis said.

Despite the failure, Novartis is continuing development of spartalizumab, a so-called checkpoint inhibitor thought to help take the brakes off the immune system in fighting cancer, against other kind of tumours, the Basel-based company said.

Novartis has been late in developing such immuno-oncology drugs for its portfolio, a field now dominated by lucrative medicines, including Merck's Keytruda, Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo, and to a lesser extent, Roche's Tecentriq.