Jennerex Inc., of San Francisco, treated the first patient in a Phase II study of intravenous oncolytic virus candidate JX-594 in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer, who have not received treatment with Nexavar (sorafenib, Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Bayer AG), the current standard of care...Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, said results from the 003-A1 single-arm Phase IIb trial evaluating Kyprolis (carfilzomib) for injection in patients with advanced

Eisai Europe Ltd., of Hatfield, UK, part of Eisai Inc., presented the first clinical data for E2609, a beta-site amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme (BACE) inhibitor, during oral sessions at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2012 in Vancouver, British Columbia...Nektar Therapeutics Inc., of San Francisco, reported that the first patient has been enrolled in a Phase II study of its opioid analgesic candidate NKTR-181

Results were published online in the Clinical Journal of Pain, ahead of the print edition...Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Wayne, N.J., and Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo, said a Phase III trial of Tarceva (erlotinib) with Nexavar (sorafenib) failed to improve overall survival for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma, compared to Nexavar alone

The company plans to use the proceeds to complete clinical development of lead candidate dalbavancin, currently in a second pivotal Phase III trial in skin infections, and to fund commercialization activities in the U.S...Nektar Therapeutics Inc., of San Francisco, disclosed a private placement of $125 million of 12 percent senior secured notes due 2017

Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, began enrollment in its ENDEAVOR Phase III trial of Kyprolis (carfilzomib) in combination with dexamethasone vs. Velcade (bortexomib, Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Co.) with dexamethasone for relapsed multiple myeloma...Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc., of Carmiel, Israel, reported clinical data for taliglucerase alfa showing that at 36 months, patients with Gaucher disease had significant improvement in bone marrow fat fraction from baseline, with

The company plans to use the proceeds to fund clinical trials, R&D activities and other corporate programs...Gemmus Pharma Inc., of San Francisco, closed a Series A round to advance its host-targeted treatment for influenza

In addition to clearance to proceed with clinical trials, the company also received approval of the protocol from the institutional review board and scientific review committee...Presidio Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Francisco, said it completed Phase Ib testing of lead hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5A inhibitor PPI-668 in patients with HCV genotype I infection

KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, and Sanofi SA, of Paris, reported Phase IIa data indicating that KB001, a recombinant human pegylated monoclonal antibody fragment, offers potential as an alternative to antibiotics for preventing or reducing pneumonias in mechanically ventilated intensive care unit (ICU) patients heavily colonized with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa...Several prior clinical studies demonstrated that Bendavia appeared to be safe and well tolerated with no serious

PharmAthene Inc., of Annapolis, Md., said it completed final analytical testing and release of its recombinant protective antigen anthrax vaccine, SparVax, in pre-filled syringes for further clinical evaluation...Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, said the independent data and safety monitoring board for the VALOR trial completed a planned periodic safety review and recommended that the study continue as planned without changes to the study conduct

Cytokinetics Inc., of South San Francisco, said data from its Phase II EoE (Evidence of Effect) study of CK-2017357, an oral fast skeletal muscle troponin activator, in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis were published in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis...Primary efficacy was measured using the Clinical Dyskinesia Rating Scale and the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale

Mark Goldsmith, a venture partner in Third Rock's San Francisco office and a member of Igenica's board, called the system "ingenious" and a perfect example of transformative biotechnology...AeroVanc is in development for pulmonary methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection in cystic fibrosis patients.

At the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, Advaxis reported preliminary Phase II data on Indian women with recurrent/refractory cervical cancer who failed cytotoxic therapy, with results showing that the tolerability of ADXS-HPV compared favorably with single-agent and combination chemotherapies. (See BioWorld Today, June 6, 2012...Oxigene Inc., of South San Francisco, said data from a Phase I trial indicated that Zybrestat (fosbretabulin) induced profound tumor vascular

Hyperion Therapeutics Inc., of South San Francisco, said a 178-patient Phase II study of glycerol phenylbutyrate, a pre-prodrug of phenylacetic acid, in episodic hepatic encephalopathy (HE) met its primary endpoint...Medivation Inc., of San Francisco, and Astellas Pharma Inc., of Tokyo, completed enrollment of 1,680 patients in the Phase III PREVAIL study of enzalutamide for advanced prostate cancer

CytRx Corp., of Los Angeles, reported Phase Ib/II data showing that tumor-targeting doxorubicin conjugate INNO-206 produced a clinical benefit at the maximum tolerated dose in 10 of 13 (76.9 percent) evaluable patients with relapsed or refractory soft-tissue sarcoma

Cytokinetics Inc., of South San Francisco, said an independent data monitoring committee concluded that safety data from the first cohort in the ongoing Phase IIb ATOMIC-AHF trial supported enrollment of the second cohort...Detailed results of the tesetaxel trial will be presented next month at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology

Data were presented at the American Thoracic Society meeting in San Francisco...1 percent of patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis who received gut-selective monoclonal antibody vedolizumab experienced clinical response vs. 25.5 percent in the placebo group (p < 0.0001

Data were presented at the American Thoracic Society meeting in San Francisco...More than 50 percent of patients in each of the two Simponi dosing groups achieved clinical response at week six, the primary endpoint of the study, which was significantly more than those in clinical response after getting placebo

Achaogen Inc., of South San Francisco, said all objectives were met in a Phase II study of plazomicin compared to levofloxacin for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections and acute pyelonephritis in adults...Plazomicin was well tolerated and demonstrated favorable microbiological and clinical outcomes at the test-of-cure visit, five days to nine days after the end of therapy, which were the primary and secondary outcome measures in the study, respectively

Proceeds will support clinical trials of cancer metabolism programs ME-344 and ME-143...Sutro Biopharma Inc., of San Francisco, raised $16.5 million in the second tranche of its Series C financing