• GE Healthcare, of Chalfont St Giles, UK, reported at the 16th Congress of the European Federation of Neurological Societies in Stockholm, Sweden, pooled results from a Phase III brain autopsy and biopsy studies on the investigational PET amyloid imaging agent, [(18)F]flutemetamol, which showed a strong concordance between the imaging agent images and Alzheimer's disease-associated beta-amyloid brain pathology. The imaging agent is being developed for the detection of beta amyloid deposits in the brain.

• Hybrigenics SA, of Paris, said it started a Phase II trial of oral inecalcitol in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The open-label trial, assessing the safety and potential efficacy of inecalcitol given to CLL patients not yet requiring immunochemotherapy but at high risk of disease progression, will enroll 50 CLL patients across six centers in France. Inecalcitol is given orally at 2 mg per day for at least six months or until progression occurs. The objectives are to decrease or stabilize the number of blood-circulating CLL cells and to delay the onset of other signs of progression, such as swelling of lymph nodes, which then requires immunochemotherapy treatment.

• InSite Vision Inc., of Alameda, Calif., completed patient enrollment in the Phase III DOUBle (Dual Ophthalmic agents Used in Blepharitis) trial of AzaSite Plus (ISV-502) and DexaSite (ISV-305) in blepharitis. The study enrolled more than 900 patients with moderate to severe blepharitis in a four-arm trial designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of both product candidates simultaneously. The company expects to report top-line data in early 2013. Separately, InSite Vision disclosed top-line data from a preclinical pharmacokinetic comparative study of DuraSite and DuraSite 2, its next-generation drug delivery system for ophthalmic therapeutics. DuraSite 2 demonstrated superior drug retention and tissue penetration. Based on InSite's original DuraSite technology, DuraSite 2 incorporates a cationic polymer to achieve sustained and enhanced ocular delivery of drugs.

• Novelos Therapeutics Inc., of Madison, Wis., said it successfully completed the second cohort in a U.S. Phase 1b dose-escalation trial of its cancer-targeted molecular radiotherapeutic compound, I-131-CLR1404 (HOT), in cancer patients with advanced solid tumors. The second two-patient cohort was successfully dosed with approximately 40 mCi of HOT, triggering enrollment into the third cohort at approximately 60 mCi.

• Pergamum AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, a Karolinska Development AB portfolio company, said dosing has begun in a randomized Phase I/II trial of LL-37 for the treatment of patients with hard-to-heal venous leg ulcers. The double-blind, placebo-controlled, safety study will assess three different doses of the therapeutic peptide and is expected to enroll 32 patients.

• Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, is increasing the sample size of its Phase III VALOR trial of vosaroxin in acute myeloid leukemia, bringing the target enrollment to 675 patients. The addition of 225 patients is in response to the recommendation of the trial's independent data and safety monitoring board (DSMB) following its pre-planned interim analysis of unblinded efficacy and safety datasets from the pivotal trial. The increased enrollment is designed to maintain adequate statistical power over a broader range of survival outcomes. Sunesis anticipates full enrollment of VALOR next year, with unblinding of the trial in the first half of 2014. The DSMB recommendation triggered a $25 million investment by New York-based Royalty Pharma, which will receive a 6.75 percent royalty on net sales of vosaroxin and warrants to purchase Sunesis common stock under a March agreement. The news spiked shares of Sunesis (NASDAQ:SNSS), which closed at $3.49 Tuesday, up 85 cents, or 32.2 percent.