VASTox expects to select a lead drug candidate from its program by the first quarter, with clinical trials forecast to start a year later

The study will be sponsored by the National Cancer Institute Cancer Therapies Evaluation Program under the clinical trials agreement with Lorus...Viral Genetics Inc., of Azusa, Calif., said results of its 137-patient TNP-001 clinical trial of VGV-1, conducted in South Africa, were consistent with the company's four prior prospective clinical studies of VGV-1

Cytos Biotechnology AG, of Zurich, Switzerland, said a clinical trial of CYT003-QbG10, a vaccine to treat allergic diseases, showed that previous efficacy observed is conferred by the QbG10 component alone, and that addition of a specific allergen extract may not be required...WEX Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, received approval for its investigational new drug application to begin a clinical trial of its sodium channel blocker, tetrodotoxin (TTX), administered as a single

Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, received FDA clearance to proceed with a Phase I/II dose-ranging human clinical trial with Neumune (HE2100) in patients at high-risk of developing health care-associated infections...Repligen Corp., of Waltham, Mass., started a clinical trial of RG1068, synthetic human secretin, as an agent to improve the detection of structural abnormalities of the pancreatic ducts during MRI imaging of the pancreas

The partners said they have appropriately investigated the events and have developed a plan for dealing with those issues in potential subsequent clinical trials evaluating VEGF-2 for severe angina

GeoVax Inc., of Atlanta, has started clinical trials following FDA clearance of an investigational new drug application for an HIV/AIDS vaccine developed by researchers at GeoVax, the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University and the Emory Vaccine Center, along with colleagues at the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Hemispherx Biopharma Inc., of Philadelphia, said it procured the seasonal influenza vaccine it needs to execute a placebo vs. Ampligen immunopotentiation clinical trial

Medivation Inc., of San Francisco, received a letter from the FDA expressing the need for additional rat toxicology data before human clinical trials can begin with the company's product Dimebon for Huntington's disease

Nutra Pharma Corp., of Boynton Beach, Fla., said its holding, ReceptoPharm, received approval from the Medicines Health and Regulatory Agency within the British Department of Health for clinical trials in adrenomyeloneuropathy, a rare inherited metabolic disorder that can lead to neurological disability

Advaxis Inc., of North Brunswick, N.J., said the first cancer patients to be treated with an engineered live Listeria vaccine recently were dosed in the company's Phase I/II clinical trial of Lovaxin C, a Listeria-based therapeutic cancer vaccine developed to treat cervical cancer...Sirtex Medical Ltd., of New South Wales, Australia, said it began a clinical trial evaluating the use of SIR-Spheres microspheres in combination with the oral chemotherapy Xeloda (capecitabine, from F. Hoffmann-La Roche

Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Irvine, Calif., said data from a physician-sponsored clinical trial showed that patients treated with Xibrom achieved statistically significant improvements in both visual acuity and EDTRS letters gained, which were equivalent to Voltaren (diclofenac sodium) and Acular (ketorolac tromethamine) after three months of treatment

Chronogen Inc., of Montreal, received approval from Health Canada to begin clinical trials of CHGN111, one of its Cellular Oxidative Stress Modulators

Zeltia Group, of Madrid, Spain, said its Neuropharma subsidiary started clinical trials of NP031112, its first molecule for Alzheimer's disease

GTx Inc., of Memphis, Tenn., started a separate Phase IIIb trial as an extension of the pivotal Phase III ADT clinical trial of Acapodene (toremifene citrate) in an 80 mg dose for the treatment of multiple serious side effects of androgen deprivation therapy

Cangene Corp., of Winnipeg, Manitoba, began a clinical trial at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City that will test Cangene's WinRho SDF in patients infected with hepatitis C virus...Lipid Sciences Inc., of Pleasanton, Calif., received notification from the institutional review board of Medstar Research Institute that it may begin a human clinical trial of its Plasma Delipidation System-2 (PDS-2

Affymax, Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., initiated a clinical trial to evaluate the use of Hematide to treat anemia in chronic kidney disease patients with pure red-cell aplasia...Pharmaxis Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, said it completed enrollment in its clinical trial to test Aridol's ability to predict response to treatment in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Actelion Ltd., of South San Francisco, Calif., is recruiting for two new clinical trials in patients with pulmonary hypertension secondary to sickle cell disease...The ASSET clinical trial program is collecting data on measures of clinical success such as pulmonary vascular resistance, exercise capacity, clinical outcomes, which include prevention of hospitalization, decreased number of sickle cell crises, death and other important clinical assessments, and safety

Immune Response Corp., of Carlsbad, Calif., said results of a clinical trial demonstrated that its T-cell receptor peptide vaccine candidate, NeuroVax, induced disease-specific immune responses, with 14 of 17 patients showing increased FOXP3+ mRNA expression over baseline at 52 weeks

Adherex Technologies Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., said it executed a clinical trial agreement with the National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis for the evaluation of the company's lead compound, ADH-1...The agreement provides for the NCI to sponsor nonclinical and clinical trials of ADH-1 in a variety of administration schedules and tumor types, both as a single agent and in combination with other cancer agents