• Antisoma plc, of London, presented positive interim findings from its ongoing Phase II trial of AS1404 in hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Men receiving AS1404 plus standard docetaxel chemotherapy had a substantially higher PSA response rate than men receiving chemotherapy alone. As previously reported, among the first 64 of 74 patients, PSA response rates were 57 percent with the AS1404-docetaxel combination versus 35 percent with docetaxel alone. Addition of AS1404 to chemotherapy also produced a near halving in the frequency of progression. Final PSA data are expected during the first half of this year, with time to tumor progression and survival data to follow in the second half. Data were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Prostate Cancer Symposium in Orlando, Fla.

• Dynavax Technologies Corp., of Berkeley, Calif., reported interim data from the first year of its two-year ragweed allergy trial known as DARTT, including a prespecified regional analysis that showed a therapeutic benefit of Tolamba in the Midwest. Data from 716 evaluable patients were to be presented Saturday at the AAAAI Annual meeting in San Diego. Dynavax reported in January that an analysis of total nasal symptom scores in the overall study population indicated that only minimal ragweed-specific allergic disease was observed, and as a result, meaningful efficacy could not be measured. Dynavax said sites in the Midwest, which included more than half the study population, included patients with more pronounced ragweed symptoms. (See BioWorld Today, Jan. 9, 2007.)

• GTx Inc., of Memphis, Tenn., highlighted Phase III interim data showing that oral, once-daily Acapodene (toremifene citrate) 80 mg increased bone mineral density and lowered cholesterol in prostate cancer patients on androgen-deprivation therapy. The two interim analyses were conducted in the first 197 men who completed one year of treatment in GTx's pivotal Phase III trial of Acapodene for the treatment of serious side effects of androgen-deprivation therapy. Data were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Prostate Cancer Symposium in Orlando, Fla.

• Pharmion Corp., of Boulder, Colo.; GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany; and Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Irvine, Calif., reported the final progression-free survival results from the Phase III SPARC registration trial of satraplatin, a platinum-based agent. The trial compared satraplatin plus prednisone to placebo plus prednisone in 950 patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Results showed satraplatin significantly reduced the risk of disease progression. Data were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Prostate Cancer Symposium in Orlando, Fla. A new drug application for the drug was filed last week with the FDA. (See BioWorld Today, Sept. 26, 2006, and Feb. 20, 2007.)

• Protox Therapeutics Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said preclinical efficacy and safety data suggested that PRX302 is suited to treat diseases of the prostate, where the goal is to ablate prostate cancer or hyperplastic tissues without damaging adjacent tissue such as the urinary bladder, urethra, rectum or seminal vesicles. Data were presented at the Prostate Cancer Symposium in Orlando, Fla. Protox plans to begin a Phase I study of PRX302 in benign prostatic hyperplasia in the second quarter.