Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said candidate necuparanib (formerly M402) received orphan drug designation from the FDA for treating pancreatic cancer. The company is testing the drug, a heparan sulfate mimetic, in a phase I/II study in combination with Abraxane (nab-paclitaxel, Celgene Corp.) and gemcitabine and anticipates reporting results from the first portion of the study and advancing into the phase II portion in the second half of this year.