• Halozyme Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, reported positive results from a study in patients with Type I diabetes that receive their insulin therapy via pumps. The Phase Ib randomized, double-blind, crossover design study is intended to determine insulin pharmacokinetics, glucodynamics, safety and tolerability of rHuPH20 (recombinant human hyaluronidase) as a single injection prior to the start of three days of NovoLog insulin aspart pump infusion therapy. The data demonstrated that pre-administration of 150 units of rHuPH20 (approximately 1.3 mcg of enzyme) led to consistent insulin exposure over the infusion set life and superior glucose control following meals.

• MediciNova Inc., of San Diego, started a Phase Ib trial with MN-221 in patients with stable, moderate-to-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) involving multiple administrations of intravenous MN-221 over several days in typical patients with concomitant illnesses. The trial is scheduled to commence enrollment by the end of the year. The trial will be run under an existing investigational new drug application for MN-221 and has completed FDA review. The main focus of the trial will be to test the safety of repeat administration over several days of MN-221 in patients suffering from moderate-to-severe COPD.

• Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, said data from a Phase II trial of its hypoxia-activated prodrug, TH-302, in combination with doxorubicin suggested a sizable improvement in efficacy over doxorubicin alone. The single-arm study tested the combination in patients with metastatic or locally advanced unresectable soft tissue sarcoma who have not previously received chemotherapy outside of the adjuvant or neoadjuvant setting. The data were presented at the Connective Tissue Oncology Society meeting in Chicago. An ongoing Phase III trial is comparing the combination with doxorubicin alone.