Poniard Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Francisco, received approval from the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration to conduct two Phase III trials of its lead product candidate, picoplatin, in the treatment of second-line small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and second-line ovarian cancer. The approval will allow Poniard to include Chinese clinical sites in global registration trials within those disease settings. Picoplatin, a platinum-based chemotherapeutic agent, has demonstrated promising clinical activity in SCLC and ovarian cancer, the company said.