• Callisto Pharmaceuticals Inc., of New York, completed enrollment of a target 40 patients in its Phase II clinical trial of Atiprimod in low- to intermediate-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma. Interim data from the trial are expected in early 2008. Atiprimod is an oral, small-molecule drug that is antiangiogenic, pro-apoptotic, inhibits secretion of VEGF and IL-6, and inhibits phosphorylation of kinases including Akt and STAT3, Callisto said. It also is being studied in a Phase I/IIa trial in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

• CoMentis Inc., of South San Francisco, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in New York are collaborating on the company's Phase IIa trial of ATG3, a topical eye-drop therapy for diabetic macular edema. The study is designed to evaluate the drug's safety and activity in improving vision in DME patients, and is expected to begin later this quarter. Results from the trial are expected in about nine months, and a subsequent Phase IIb study in patients with Type I and Type II diabetes will follow later in 2008. ATG3, a formulation of mecamylamine designed to work by inhibiting the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor pathway, also is in development for age-related macular degeneration.

• ImClone Systems Inc., of New York, said a division of the National Cancer Institute has selected 10 proposals for Phase I/II clinical trials of IMC-A12, a monoclonal antibody targeting insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor. The trials will evaluate IMC-A12 as a monotherapy or in combination with traditional and/or targeted cancer therapies, in adults and children, in various types of tumors including breast, lung, pancreas and liver cancers and sarcomas. ImClone also started its own Phase II trial of IMC-A12 in advanced prostate cancer last month.

• Karo Bio AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, said Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, of Madison, N.J., discontinued development of LXR-623. The compound had been in Phase I testing for the treatment of atherosclerosis. While LXR-623 demonstrated efficacy on biomarkers for atherosclerosis, it had an unfavorable profile for further development. The companies plan to advance a new lead compound under their collaboration that targets the liver X receptor, or LXR. Their atherosclerosis collaboration, begun in 2001, recently was extended one additional year, through August 2008.

• Medicure Inc., of Winnipeg, Manitoba, completed enrollment of the target 3,000 patients in its Phase III trial of MC-1 in coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, known as MEND-CABG II, completed enrollment two months ahead of schedule, and top-line data are expected early next year. The primary endpoint is the incidence of cardiovascular death or nonfatal myocardial infarction within 30 days of the CABG surgery. MC-1 is a naturally occurring cardioprotective molecule.

• Ocera Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, initiated a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of AST-120 in patients with nonconstipating irritable bowel syndrome. The study will be conducted at four centers in Belgium. AST-120, an oral adsorbent used in more than 200,000 patients in Japan, already is being tested in a pivotal Phase III trial in fistulizing Crohn's disease in North America and Europe.

• Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Bethesda, Md., initiated a Phase II trial of SPI-8811 (cobiprostone) in non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced ulcers and other gastrointestinal injuries. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-finding, 120-patient trial will evaluate safety and efficacy, with a primary endpoint of overall incidence of gastric ulcers. SPI-8811 is a functional fatty acid that targets ion channels in the liver and gastrointestinal tract.

• ViaCell Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., and Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland, Calif., said umbilical cord blood from a relative may be an effective source of stem cells for transplantation in children affected with sickle cell disease and thalassemia, and may have advantages over bone marrow transplantation. Of the more than 100 children treated in the program, 17 were transplanted for sickle cell disease and 23 for thalassemia. Six patients with sickle cell disease had acute graft-vs.-host disease, and no acute or chronic GvHD was observed in patients transplanted for thalassemia. The median time to neutrophil recovery was 18 days and 25 days, respectively, and 36 and 47 days for platelet recovery.

• Vical Inc., of San Diego, said its licensee, Sanofi-Aventis Group, of Paris, initiated a Phase III trial with the angiogenesis product candidate NV1FGF, which uses Vical's nonviral DNA delivery technology. The double-blind, placebo-controlled trial will enroll 500 patients with critical limb ischemia and will evaluate the ability of NV1FGF to prevent major amputation or death. NV1FGF is a plasmid DNA therapy encoding fibroblast growth factor 1.