ABSTRACT - Two experimental drugs that fight cancer in novel ways succeed in clinical trials, ending lingering doubts about their effectiveness and promising new era in treatment of disease; new drugs are products of biotechnology that attack particular mechanism by which cancer cells grow; they promise to extend by months lives of those who contract it or to shrink tumors, while avoiding some of serious side effects of conventional chemotherapy; they open door to further research that may yield wave of even more effective drugs operating on similar lines; one drug, Avastin, developed by Genentech, allowed patients with advanced colorectal cancer to live nearly five months longer; other drug is Erbitux, also tested on advanced colorectal cancer patients; it was developed by ImClone Systems, company dogged by scandal; its first application for approval of drug was rejected in 2001 because Food and Drug Adm said company's clinical trials were poorly designed and sloppily conducted; results of more carefully conducted trial are almost identical to those of pervious study, potentially clearing way for approval of drug; photo (M) Two experimental drugs that fight cancer in novel ways have succeeded in clinical trials, ending lingering doubts about their effectiveness and promising a new era in the treatment of the disease, doctors said here today.

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