2012 Congress held in Vienna, Austria

Company
(Location)

Product

Description

Indication

Status

Date


Active Biotech AB (Lund, Sweden) and Ipsen SA (Paris)

TASQ

Tasquinimod

Chemotherapy-naive metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer

Phase II data supported an effect of tasquinomid on both immunomodulation and angiogenesis

10/2/12

Aragon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (San Diego)

ARN-509

Second-generation androgen receptor antagonist

Castration-resistant prostate cancer

Phase II data showed treatment was well tolerated and resulted in robust and durable prostate-specific antigen responses

10/2/12

Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.)

AP26113

Tyrosine kinase inhibitor

Advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

Phase I/II data showed the drug appeared to be well tolerated, and the maximum-tolerated dose had not yet been reached

10/2/12

AVEO Oncology Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.) and Astellas Pharma Inc. (Tokyo)

Tivozanib

A drug designed to inhibit all three vascular endothelial growth factor receptors

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Phase III data showed patients receiving tivozanib had fewer Grade 3 and off-target adverse events, stayed on treatment longer and required fewer dose reductions and interruptions, compared with those treated with Nexavar

10/2/12

Bavarin Nordic A/S (Kvistgaard, Denmark)

CV-301

An immunotherapy product

Metastatic breast cancer

Phase II data of CV-301 , in combination with docetaxel, showed progression-free survival of 6.6 months, compared to 3.8 months in the docetaxel-only arm

10/2/12

BioAlliance SA (Paris)

AMEP

Biotherapy designed to target specific receptors particularly expressed by melanoma cells and vascular endothelial cells

Metastatic melanoma

Phase I data showed it had a good safety profile

10/2/12

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (New York)

Yervoy

Ipilimumab

Metastatic melanoma

Phase III data showed a four-year survival rate of 19% when used with dacarbazine, compared to 9.6% for dacarbazine alone

10/2/12

CytrRx Corp. (Los Angeles)

INNO-206

Tumor-targeting doxorubicin conjugate aldoxorubicin

Advanced soft-tissue sarcoma

Phase Ib/II data showed clinical benefit in 10 of 13 evaluable patients

10/2/12

Eli Lilly and Co. (Indianapolis)

IMC-1121B

Ramucirumab

Non-small-cell lung cancer

Phase II data showed interim progression-free survival of 4.3 months for the control arm and 6.3 months for the experimental arm

10/2/12

Exelixis Inc. (South San Francisco)

Cabozantinib

A tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting the MET and VEGF signaling pathways

Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and bone metastases

Data from 51 patients suggested the 40-mg daily dose has similar clinical activity to the 100-mg daily dose

10/2/12

Exelixis Inc. (South San Francisco) and Roche AG (Basel, Switzerland)

Zelboraf

BRAF inhibitor; vemurafenib

Locally advanced/unresectable or metastatic melanoma

In a Phase Ib trial, two cohorts receiving 60 mg of MEK inhibitor GDC-0973 on a 21/7 day schedule with vemurafenib at 720 mg and 960 mg were selected for expansion

10/2/12

Genentech Inc. (South San Francisco) and ImmunoGen Inc. (Waltham, Mass.)

T-DM1

Antibody-drug conjugate

Breast cancer

Phase III data showed it yielded a reduced death risk of 32% for women with HER2-positive breast cancer who had previously been treated with herceptin plus a taxane

10/2/12

Helsinn Group (Lugano, Switzerland)

Palonosetron

Oral version; second-generation 5-HT3 receptor antagonist

To prevent chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting

Proved effective and safe in an open-label study

10/2/12

Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, N.J.)

Zytiga

Abiraterone acetate

Prostate cancer

Phase III data suggested Zytiga plus predinsone, compared to placebo plus prednisone, delayed pain progression and functional decline in asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients whose disease progressed after androgen deprivation therapy and anti-androgens

10/2/12

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.)

MM-121 and MM-111

Targets ErbB3, a signaling receptor

Advanced metastatic breast and ovarian cancers, and advanced HER2-positive solid tumors

Phase I data showed the two potential therapies targeting ErbB3 were found to be safe, with signs of clinical benefit

10/3/12

Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Co. (Cambridge, Mass.) and Seattle Genetics Inc. (Bothell, Wash.)

Brentuximab vedotin

Antibody-drug conjugate

Lymphomas

Phase I data showed early activity and manageable side effects

10/2/12

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Lexington, Mass.)

Ganetespib

Heat-shock protein 90 inhibitor

Non-small-cell lung cancer

Interim analysis of a Phase IIb trial showed trends of efficacy in second-line NSCLC patients with adenocarcinoma as well as in all prespecified patient subgroups

10/2/12

Zeltia SA (Madrid, Spain)

PM01183

Lurbenectedin

Ovarian cancer

Gained positive results in a Phase II trial in 73% of patients

10/2/12


Notes:

Public biotech company stock symbols can be found in the stock report located on the last two pages of this issue.

The date indicated refers to the BioWorld Today issue in which the news item can be found.