Shares of Oxford BioMedica jumped on the news that it's been conducting positive talks with the FDA on advancing clinical research on the renal cancer drug TroVax. An independent monitoring board had concluded last summer that TroVax--which is partnered with Sanofi-Aventis--would not meet its primary endpoint in a late-stage trial. Today the developer announced that the FDA supported all aspects of its amended plan for a Phase III.

"The agreed amendments to the TRIST study should enable us to identify the optimal setting and regimen for TroVax in renal cancer and we remain optimistic that TroVax may show benefit in a subset of patients," says John Dawson, acting chief executive of Oxford BioMedica. "We continue to work with our partner, Sanofi-Aventis, to explore the data arising from the TRIST study and to map the optimal development path for TroVax. In addition, we continue to believe that TroVax could play an important role in the treatment of cancer including renal cancer and colorectal cancer, and thus potentially address significant unmet needs for patients."

- here's the Oxford BioMedica release
- read the story from CityAM

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