• Actinium Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Newark, N.J., said it treated the first cohort of patients in a Phase I/II study of Actimab-A in acute myeloid leukemia. Patients were dosed with 0.5 microCi/kg of drug, with two consecutive doses given a week apart. Actimab-A consists of the isotope Actinium 225 attached to the anti-CD33 monoclonal antibody lintuzumab (HuM195).

• Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, and the University of Alberta said they treated the first patient in an islet cell transplant Phase I/II trial testing emricasan (IDN-6556), a pan-caspase inhibitor. The objective is to determine safety, achievement and maintenance of insulin independence and to obtain preliminary data on the efficacy of the drug to maintain adequate immunological protection against both allo- and autoimmunity of islet cell transplant recipients.

• pSivida Corp., of Watertown, Mass., said the FDA cleared its investigational new drug application for two Phase III trials testing its injectable sustained-release micro-insert in patients with posterior uveitis. The trials are expected to enroll a total of 300 patients.

• Viral Genetics Inc., of San Marino, Calif., said the first patient was enrolled in its Phase I trial designed to study Metabolic Disruption Technology compounds in combination with an existing cancer therapy to treat drug-resistant ovarian cancer. A total of up to 24 patients will receive combination treatment of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and Nexavar (sorafenib, Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Bayer AG). Primary endpoints are related to safety and reflect the dose-escalation design of the trial, which aims to find a maximum tolerated dose of different combinations of HCQ and sorafenib. The study is supported by a donation from the Scott and White Foundation.