• Alvine Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Carlos, Calif., started a Phase IIa study of ALV003 in celiac disease. The trial is expected to enroll about 110 patients with well-controlled disease, who will be randomized to receive either daily ALV003 or placebo for six weeks with a 28-day post-treatment follow-up. The objective is to assess potential for patient benefit, safety and to evaluate potential endpoints for subsequent Phase IIb and Phase III studies. Results are expected in the second half of next year.

• Cardium Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, said all patients have completed the initial 12-week evaluation period in its Phase IIb MATRIX study of Excellarate, a DNA-based biologic candidate, in chronic diabetic foot ulcers. The company intends to provide detailed safety and efficacy data in late September.

• Epigenomics AG, of Berlin, said it completed a clinical feasibility study in lung cancer on its lead biomarker, SHOX2, for lung cancer diagnosis used on blood samples. Data showed that, in a population of patients undergoing diagnostic workup for suspected lung cancer, of which typically about 40 percent actually have the cancer, an SHOX2 test could predict the presence of the disease with a 92 percent probability. The study involved 188 patients with confirmed lung cancer of all stages and 155 control patients consisting of individuals with benign lung disease, healthy subjects and smokers.

• Hawaii Biotech Inc., of Honolulu, initiated a Phase I study of its monovalent dengue vaccine candidate in healthy subjects. In addition to safety, vaccine recipients also will be monitored for virus neutralizing antibodies. Results are expected within a year. The company anticipates testing a dengue tetravalent vaccine candidate, also developed using its recombinant subunit vaccine technology, within a year.

• Medicago Inc., of Quebec City, received clearance from Health Canada to start a Phase I trial of its H5N1 avian influenza vaccine and has begun enrolling volunteers. The study is designed to evaluate immune response, in addition to safety and tolerability, in up to 48 healthy subjects between the ages of 18 and 60 who will receive two doses of drug or placebo, injected 21 days apart. Results are expected in the fourth quarter.

• Morria Biopharmaceuticals plc, of London, received written approval to start a Phase II trial of MRX6, its topical multifunctional anti-inflammatory drug. The study will involve 80 contact dermatitis patients and will examine a 21-day regimen, monitoring pharmacokinetics and dose-response parameters.

• Peptimmune Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., completed a Phase Ib trial of PI-2301, a peptide copolymer, in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, which established safety at all doses and dose-dependent increases in serum levels of anti-inflammatory markers consisted with PI-2301 exposure. The study enrolled 50 subjects with SPMS, of which 36 received the drug once-weekly for eight weeks, followed by an open-label extension of an additional four weeks. A Phase II study in MS patients is expected to start later this year.

• Resverlogix Corp., of Calgary, Alberta, reported that its Phase Ib/IIa study of small-molecule RVX-208 for 28 days in three different doses met its primary endpoint of increasing plasma ApoA-I significantly. Compilation of the full data report is expected to take place later this year, those data mean RVX-208 is expected to progress into Phase II studies in cardiovascular disease patients. In other news, Resverlogix also completed two arms of a Phase I bioequivalency study for RVX-208, with the final arm scheduled for completion at the end of this quarter. That study is designed to show that the new capsule version is equivalent to the earlier powder-in-a-bottle version used in all trials to date.