Company* |
Product |
Description |
Indication |
Status (Date) |
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AUTOIMMUNE | ||||
Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ISIS) | Alicaforsen (ISIS 2302) | Antisense inhibitor of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 | Crohn's disease | Company initiated a second Phase III trial with 150 patients at 35 sites in Europe (6/25) |
CANCER | ||||
Advanced Viral Research Corp. (OTC BB:ADVR) | Product R | A nontoxic peptide- | Body wasting in patients with solid tumors | Company received approval to begin a Phase I study in Israel (6/18) |
Amgen Inc. | Aranesp/ Nespo; Neulasta/ Neupogen (FDA-approved) | Darbepoetin alfa; pegfilgrastim | Anemia in cancer patients; to reduce the incidence of febrile neutropenia in patients treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy | European Committee on Proprietary Medicinal Products recommended approval of darbepoetin alfa and pegfilgrastim (6/4) |
BioVex Ltd.* | OncoVEX GM-CSF | Herpes simplex virus engineered to replicate in and destroy cancer cells, and carrying the gene encoding the immune stimulator granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor | Solid tumors | Company was granted approval in the UK to begin a Phase I trial (6/24) |
Genzyme Canada (subsidiary of Genzyme Corp.; GENZ) | Thyrogen | Thyrotropin alfa for injection; a recombinant human thyroid stimulating hormone | Thyroid cancer | Genzyme received approval for Thyrogen in Canada (6/3) |
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. (PPHM) | 131i-chTNT | 131 iodine-labeled chimeric tumor necrosis therapy antibody drug using a method of intratumoral injection | Lung cancer | Clinical data from a study in China show that 56% efficacy was achieved (6/19) |
INFECTION | ||||
Advanced Viral Research Corp. (OTC BB:ADVR) | Product R | A nontoxic peptide- | AIDS-related wasting | The Israeli Ministry of Health approved Product R for Phase I/II trials (6/6) |
CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CGPI) | Periostat (FDA- | Doxycycline 20 mg | Periodontitis | Company received final marketing authorization for Periostat in the Netherlands and Portugal (6/25) |
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) and | Tamiflu (FDA- | Oseltamivir phosphate | Influenza | Companies received approval to market Tamiflu in Europe (6/27) |
ID Biomedical | FluINsure | Intranasally delivered | Influenza | Company received clearance from the Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate of the Health Products and Foods Branch of Health Canada to proceed with a Phase II trial (6/5) |
MISCELLANEOUS | ||||
Modex Therapeutics | Allox | An off-the-shelf | Skin wounds | Company completed a Phase I trial in Switzerland that demonstrated the product's safety (6/26**) |
Procyon Biopharma Inc. (Canada; TSE:PBP) | Fibrostat | Topical cream | Hypertrophic scars | Results of a Canadian Phase II trial showed there were no serious or severe treatment reactions related to treatment (6/21) |
Tanox Inc., (TNOX), Novartis Pharma AG and Genentech Inc. (NYSE:DNA) | Xolair | Omalizumab; anti-IgE therapy; a humanized monoclonal antibody | Moderate allergic asthma | Australian authorities approved Xolair (6/18) |
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Notes: | ||||
* Privately held. |
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** Denotes the date the item ran in BioWorld International. |
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Unless otherwise noted, the stock symbols listed for public companies are on the Nasdaq market. |
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NYSE = New York Stock Exchange; OTC BB = Over the Counter Bulletin Board; SWX = Swiss Stock Exchange; TSE = Toronto Stock Exchange |
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