Oncology

Rheumatology: fastest growing subject of trials

John Carroll — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:24:13 -0400

New analysis from Nature on the Phase II-IV clinical trials registered with ClinicalTrials.gov shows that oncology studies led all therapeutic areas, followed by central nervous system disorders, cardiology, infectious diseases, endocrinology, and respiratory diseases. Those six areas accounted for two thirds of all protocols and two thirds of all sites. The highest growth in trials was in rheumatology, at 157 percent, and rheumatoid arthritis became the third most common disease being studied.

--read the analysis from Nature

Nanotech investment will have payoff

Maureen Martino — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:28:47 -0400

A recent report by Credit Suisse analysts found that investing in medical nanotechnology could have a real payoff in the coming years. Oncology and CNS diseases in particular will be a target for nanotech drug developers, which include, Flamel Technologies, Sandvik and Orthovita. Intellectual property and the attitudes of agencies faced with regulating nanotech trials will prove to be challenges, however. Report

CytRx inks deal to buy Innovive in $21M acquisition

John Carroll — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:54:10 -0400

CytRx has inked a deal to buy Innovive Pharmaceuticals, adding its four experimental oncology therapies to its pipeline. The combined company will own a 49 perent interest in RXi Pharmaceuticals. The deal is priced at $21.3 million plus the assumption of liabilities. The combined company will advance therapies for oncology, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, stroke recovery and diabetic foot ulcers.

"The Innovive acquisition is a compelling strategic fit for CytRx and is expected to provide several key benefits. Innovive has an attractive oncology portfolio with the opportunity for relatively near-term drug approval with low regulatory risk," said Steven A. Kriegsman, CytRx president and CEO. "This acquisition improves our potential for near-term revenue while maintaining our longer-term emphasis on our molecular chaperone technology platform. The addition of this pipeline leverages our significant expertise in oncology drug development."

- read the CytRx's release

BMS buys Kosan for $190M

Thu, 29 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Bristol-Myers Squibb is adding two oncology drugs to its pipeline with the acquisition of Kosan Biosciences. The company is paying $5.50 per share in cash for Kosan and gains two anticancer agents: novel Hsp90 (heat shock protein 90) inhibitors and epothilones.

"Kosan has done great work advancing two classes of novel anticancer medicines: epothilones and Hsp90 inhibitors," said Elliott Sigal, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president and chief scientific officer, Bristol-Myers Squibb. "Epothilones are microtubule stabilizers with multiple therapeutic applications in various cancers and potentially in neurodegenerative diseases. The Hsp90 program includes a Phase III compound for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma, an area of high unmet medical need."

- see the buyout announcement for more

Sonus, OncoGenex to merge

Wed, 28 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Bothell, WA-based Sonus Pharmaceuticals is merging with Canada's OncoGenex Technologies and will operate under the name OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals. OncoGenex's CEO Scott Cormack will head up the new company.

Sonus has been struggling since September when it pulled the plug on its lead therapy for breast cancer. Since then the company said it has been looking for ways to rebuild shareholder value. A merger with OncoGenex was the best way to do that, CEO Michael Martino said in a release.

The combined company has a strong oncology pipeline with three candidates in various stages of clinical development. Its lead candidate, OGX-011 for prostate cancer, is being evaluated in five Phase II clinical trials.

- see the merger release

JapanBridge pays $26M for ProStrakan patch

Fri, 23 May 2008 06:59:57 -0400

JapanBridge is paying $26 million in upfront and milestone payments for the rights to develop and commercialize Sancuso, a transdermal patch for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. This patch was developed by Scotland's ProStrakan, which submitted an NDA for the drug in 2007 and is awaiting final approval. ProStrakan expects to launch the drug this year. JapanBridge will market Sancuso in Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, and receive royalties on sales there.

MPM Capital and Itochu Corporation formed JapanBridge to "address unmet needs for important new Western oncology therapies in the Far East," according to the statement. This is JapanBridge's first deal.

- see this press release for more

Pfizer gets new cancer team to advance key drugs

Thu, 15 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

With the clock ticking on its patent for Lipitor, Pfizer has turned to a group of new executives to lead the company to the promised land of new cancer therapies.

Garry Nicholson, a 30-year Eli Lilly vet, will be responsible for overseeing every aspect of Pfizer's new oncology programs, from the first clinical trial to marketing, notes Forbes. Neil Gibson, formerly chief scientific officer at biotech OSI Pharmaceuticals, has been brought in to direct oncology research. And Briggs Morrison, who was able to speed clinical trials at Merck, has been brought in to do trial design.

"It's an exceptional situation," says Nicholson. "And for someone like me, who is in the business to get as many cancer drugs that extend survival to patients as possible, it is the best situation that I know of."

Pfizer needs all the help it can get. The drug giant is likely to lose 25 percent of its current revenue to generic competition for Lipitor.

- see Pfizer's statement on Nicholson's appointment
- read the article from Forbes

ASCO braces for massive data dump before meeting

Wed, 14 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

The analysts devoted to tracking biotech companies in the oncology arena will have their hands full tomorrow night at 9 p.m. EST. That's when ASCO will do an online data dump in advance of its annual meeting, revealing many of the little--and big--details that could spell swift gyrations in the value of a company's shares.

The data blast, which will cover the results from thousands of studies, marks a big change for the cancer group. In the past, ASCO members got an advance look at the data that was being presented, and the numbers oh-so-mysteriously migrated into the hands of investors, who were able to get a jump on the market movers. Last year, for example, you could tell who was going to release positive or negative data by the movement of a company's shares in advance of the meeting.

Analysts say this year's switch will cost them a night's sleep, but look for plenty of headlines over the weekend.

- read the report from the Wall Street Journal

EUSA Pharma spins off assets as it narrows focus

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

The transatlantic EUSA Pharma has spun off its monoclonal antibody research operation along with a development program for leukemia as it narrows its focus to late-stage drug development and marketing. France's International Drug Development snared the antibody operation while the Alize Pharma Group snagged the recombinant L-asparaginase therapeutic research program for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. EUSA's antibody research business is based in Dardilly, France, and includes a library of approximately 600 murine antibodies.

Bryan Morton, chief executive of EUSA Pharma said: "As we continue to rapidly build our business around our commercial infrastructure in the US and Europe, we are creating the opportunity to compete effectively with major players as an attractive partner for companies seeking specialist transatlantic commercialization and late-stage development expertise in the oncology, pain control and critical care areas."

- read EUSA's release for more information

SPOTLIGHT: Biocon establishing R&D sub

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:59:53 -0400

India's Biocon says it will transfer four molecules to a new R&D subsidiary, resisting a trend in the subcontinent of spinning off R&D into a new company. Its researchers are working on new drugs for diabetes, cardiovascular, inflammation, oncology and endocrinology. Report