The following news items came out of the 47th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in Atlanta. The meeting ended Tuesday

• Bioenvision Inc., of New York, reported preliminary data from its Phase II study of clofarabine in pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia showed that, of the 20 patients evaluable to date, five (25 percent) achieved a complete response. Clofarabine, a next-generation purine nucleoside analogue, is being co-developed with Genzyme Corp., of Cambridge, Mass.

• Biogen Idec Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said data demonstrated that patients might benefit from earlier and consolidated use of Zevalin (ibritumomab Tiuxetan) radioimmunotherapy in refractory and hard-to-treat cancers, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, and follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Zevalin was approved in 2002 for relapsed or refractory, low-grade, follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, including patients with rituximab (Rituxan, Biogen Idec and Genentech Inc.) refractory disease.

• Celgene Corp., of Summit, N.J., said preliminary data from a Phase II trial of Revlimid (lenalidomide) plus dexamethasone with aspirin as initial therapy for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients showed that 31 of the 34 patients achieved an objective response of 91 percent, defined as at least 50 percent reduction in the level of the serum monoclonal (M) protein, and a reduction in the 24-hour urinary M protein level of at least 90 percent, or to less than 200 mg. The company also reported clinical data from Revlimid in myelofibrosis, showing that 59 percent of the evaluable patients who received 10 mg/day orally (5 mg daily for patients with a platelet count less than 100,000 at the study's start) exhibited a response to treatment. After treatment, five previously transfusion-dependent patients no longer required transfusions.

• Cougar Biotechnology, of Los Angeles, presented preclinical results demonstrating the effectiveness of its CB3304 (noscapine) for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma. Studies showed that, following exposure to noscapine, the OPM2 (multiple myeloma), H9 (T-cell lymphoma) and RL (B-cell lymphoma) tumor cell lines exhibited an IC50 of about 30 nM, 700nM and 500 nM, respectively. Treatment with the drug resulted in the induction of apoptosis in each of the cell lines tested.

• EntreMed Inc., of Rockville, Md., and Affymax Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., presented preclinical data showing that their synthetic peptides exhibited improved anti-angiogenic activity and very low density lipoprotein receptor binding in vitro. The companies formed a collaboration last year to develop EntreMed's tissue factor pathway inhibitor program to develop peptides for inhibiting tumor growth and the formation of new blood vessels. (See BioWorld Today, Oct. 27, 2004.)

• Favrille Inc., of San Diego, presented long-term follow-up data from its Phase II trial of FavId, showing that the drug, when administered following Rituxan, indicated an improved response over Rituxan alone in patients with follicular B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The overall clinical response rate increased from 49 percent at month three following Rituxan alone to 65 percent following the initiation of FavId.

• FibroGen Inc., of South San Francisco, reported results from a preclinical study indicating that FG-2216, its lead investigational HIF-PH inhibitor for anemia, was found to be safe and well tolerated in non-human primates when administered twice-weekly for six months. Data also showed that the drug stimulated increases in hemoglobin levels, which were dose-dependent and stable for the duration of therapy at each dose level, and prevented reduction in hemoglobin levels due to phlebotomy in that model of chronic anemia.

• Innsbruck Medical University in Austria reported results showing that patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia who had received in median three other treatments experienced encouraging survival benefit of up to 31 months after being treated with MabCampath, depending on pretreatment risk constellation. MabCampath (alemtuxumab) is marketed in the U.S. as Campath by Cambridge, Mass.-based Genzyme Corp.

• Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said studies exploring Velcade alone or in combination with other commonly used agents in previously untreated multiple myeloma resulted in overall response rates as high as 92 percent, with complete response rates as high as 30 percent. The company also reported that Velcade, used alone or in combination, in a range of multiple myeloma populations showed overall response rates of up to 78 percent in relapsed and refractory patients, a population in which the landmark Phase III APEX trail demonstrated a median 30-month survival benefit for Velcade as a single agent. Phase II studies of Velcade in aggressive and indolent subtypes of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma also showed high response rates, as well as favorable safety and dosing when the drug was administered as both a single agent and in combination.

• Seattle Genetics Inc., of Bothell, Wash., reported preclinical data demonstrating that SGN-40, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the CD40 antigen, showed broad application in B-cell malignancies, including Hodgkin's disease and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and in combination with lenalidomide (Revlimid, Celgene Inc.). Also, preclinical work with SGN-70, a humanized anti-CD70 monoclonal antibody targeting CD70-expressing multiple myeloma, showed therapeutic potential in hematologic malignancies.

• SGX Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said data from in vitro and in vivo testing show that compounds in its most advanced lead series inhibit proliferation of K562 cells and Ba/F3 cells with wild-type BCR-ABL and most clinically relevant mutations, including T315I. The company expects to file an investigational new drug application in late 2006 for clinical development of a compound from its BCR-ABL kinase inhibitors to treat drug-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia.