• Nuon Therapeutics Inc., of San Mateo, Calif., said a Phase IIa trial of NU1618 met its primary endpoint of reducing serum uric acid (sUA) levels in patients with hyperuricemia. NU1618 is a proprietary combination of tranilast and allopurinol. In the Phase IIa study, NU1618 lowered sUA levels better than either component alone. Sixty-one percent of patients taking the high dose of NU1618 achieved clinically relevant reductions, compared to 11 percent of patients taking high-dose allopurinol. A Phase IIb trial in gout is ongoing.

• OxiGene Inc., of South San Francisco, completed enrollment of a target 60 patients in its Phase II FALCON trial of vascular disrupting agent Zybrestat (fosbretabulin) in non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer. Interim data showed the drug appears to be well tolerated with trends toward improved outcomes. Additional data are expected later this year.

• QLT Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said data from the Phase IIIb DENALI study, sponsored by Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis AG, showed the combination of Visudyne (verteporfin photodynamic therapy) plus Lucentis (ranibizumab, Genentech Inc./Roche AG) was not noninferior to Lucentis alone in improving visual acuity in patients with subfoveal choroidal neovascularization secondary to wet age-related macular degeneration.

• Relypsa Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif., initiated an open-label Phase II trial of RLY5016 plus an aldosterone antagonist for heart failure patients with chronic kidney disease. RLY5016 is a potassium binder designed to lower elevated potassium levels that can cause cardiac arrhythmias. Relypsa recently completed a Phase II hyperkalemia trial and will present data at an upcoming conference.

• SanBio Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., said the FDA approved the start of a Phase I/IIa trial of SB623 in patients suffering from disability caused by cerebral stroke. SB623 is derived from bone marrow stromal cells isolated from healthy adult donors. The study will test the product's safety when implanted in the damaged regions of the brains of stable stroke patients.

• Vical Inc., of San Diego, said an independent safety monitoring board recommended that the Phase III trial of Allovectin-7 in patients with metastatic melanoma continue per the protocol following the fourth scheduled safety analysis. The study, initiated in January 2007, is testing Allovectin-7 as a first-line therapy in patients with Stage III or Stage IV recurrent metastatic melanoma. Enrollment completed in February, with 390 patients recruited, and Vical expects to complete patient follow-up and lock the trial database in mid-2011.