• Anadys Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said patient dosing has begun in a Phase I study of ANA773, the company's oral TLR7 agonist prodrug, in patients with advanced solid tumors. The first-in-human trial is a safety and tolerability study designed to identify pharmacologically active doses and preliminary antitumor activity as well as to select the dose and schedule for Phase II trials.

• Athersys Inc., of Cleveland, announced positive top-line results from its Phase I clinical trial of ATHX-105, its orally administered drug candidate for the treatment of obesity. ATHX-105 was well absorbed, providing good drug exposures, well tolerated up to high doses, and had no negative effect on cardiovascular, hematology or other clinical parameters. A Phase II study is planned for later this year.

• Evotec AG, of Hamburg, Germany, has begun its first Phase II study for EVT 302 in smoking cessation with a reversible and highly selective inhibitor of monoamine oxidase B). The double-blind, three-way crossover study will investigate the influence of EVT 302 on craving and withdrawal symptoms after short-term deprivation of cigarettes in 90 smokers. The effect of EVT 302 on craving when combined with nicotine replacement therapy will be assessed as a secondary outcome.

• Metabasis Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, has completed patient enrollment in its Phase IIa clinical trial for MB07803 for patients with Type II diabetes. The company expects to announce top-line results in the second quarter. MB07803 is a member of a new class of drugs discovered by Metabasis that is designed to regulate glucose production in the liver by inhibiting an enzyme known as fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase.

• Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp., of East Hanover, N.J., said an independent data monitoring committee stopped a Phase III clinical trial of the investigational drug Everolimus (RAD001) after interim results showed significantly better progression-free survival in patients with advanced kidney cancer who received Everolimus compared to placebo. The committee stopped the trial of more than 400 patients in 12 countries because the study met its primary endpoint. The interim findings are being shared with investigators to allow them to offer Everolimus to patients remaining on placebo. Test results from the RECORD-1 trial will be presented as a late-breaking abstract at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in May. Everolimus is a once-daily oral therapy that inhibits the mTOR protein, a central regulator of tumor cell division and blood vessel growth in cancer cells. The company said worldwide regulatory filings will occur in the second half of 2008.