• Advaxis Inc., of North Brunswick, N.J., said the first cancer patients to be treated with an engineered live Listeria vaccine recently were dosed in the company's Phase I/II clinical trial of Lovaxin C, a Listeria-based therapeutic cancer vaccine developed to treat cervical cancer. The trial, taking place in Serbia, Israel and Mexico, will enroll 20 cervical cancer patients and is expected to last about six months.

• Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings LP, of Hamilton, Bermuda, said approval has been granted in the UK to start a Phase II trial of TA-NIC, a vaccine being developed for the treatment of nicotine addiction. The study is a placebo-controlled, multicenter study, designed to assess the efficacy and safety of TA-NIC in maintaining smoking cessation when given in conjunction with current standard support treatments. Patient recruitment is scheduled to begin in the UK this quarter.

• Sirtex Medical Ltd., of New South Wales, Australia, said it began a clinical trial evaluating the use of SIR-Spheres microspheres in combination with the oral chemotherapy Xeloda (capecitabine, from F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.) in patients with advanced metastatic liver cancers. SIR-Spheres microspheres are FDA-approved radioactive microspheres to treat metastatic liver tumors. The 28-patient trial is designed to determine safety, toxicity and recommended dose for Xeloda when administered with Sirtex's product.

• Vernalis plc, of Winnersh, England, and Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc., of Chadds Ford, Pa., reported top-line data from the second Phase III study of Frova (frovatriptan succinate) 2.5-mg tablets for the short-term prevention (six-days per month) prevention of menstrual migraine. Data corroborate prior positive findings and showed statistical significance over placebo. Endo expects to file a supplemental new drug application in the coming weeks for approval. Frova already is approved for the acute treatment of migraine attacks with or without aura in adults. Vernalis' stock (NASDAQ:VNLS) jumped 16.7 percent on the news, closing at $3 Monday, up 43 cents.