Half of all multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in the nearly $16 billion (and growing) market will be taking oral drugs two years from now, and they'll cycle from one to another, just as they've done in the past with other therapies, predicted Receptos Inc. CEO Faheem Hasnain.

Bolstering its hepatitis C virus (HCV) position as patent skirmishes continue in the space, Merck & Co. Inc. snatched up Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $24.50 in cash per share, or about $3.85 billion, in a 300 percent-plus premium deal approved by the boards of both companies and set to close during the third quarter of this year.

Jitters over prospects with any candidate in Alzheimer's disease (AD) failed to deter investors from putting up to $30.8 million into Transition Therapeutics Inc., which not only has AD work ongoing but also a phase II trial in type 2 diabetes with heavyweight partner Eli Lilly and Co.

Edge Therapeutics Inc. could cut to the front of the line in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) therapy with its polymeric microparticle form of the calcium channel blocker nimodipine, EG-1962, advancing into the second cohort of a phase I/II trial.

This isn’t exactly “funny” – nothing about cancer is – but during the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago I couldn’t help noticing the multitude of hand-sanitizer vending devices posted around McCormick Place. They seemed … odd there. “Scrub some alcohol gel on your hands, so you don’t catch cold! Oh, cancer? Not a lot we can do about that. We’re working on it.” So they are. The number of abstracts submitted and attendees set records this year. I’m not always assigned to cover ASCO, but I’ve done my share, and 2014’s meeting seemed uncommonly active. Of...

CHICAGO – As the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting entered day two, coffee-sipping attendees perked to a first-in-the-morning discussion of the phase III data with Pharmacyclics Inc.'s ibrutinib (branded Imbruvica) in relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the first time an oral drug has yielded survival improvement over standard therapy.

CHICAGO – Data from four phase III trials were slated to roll out during the afternoon plenary session of the 50th annual meeting of American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), providing new insights into breast, prostate and colorectal cancers and each funded at least in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

CHICAGO – Long-awaited results from the massive phase III breast cancer study called ALTTO (Adjuvant Lapatinib and/or Trastuzumab Treatment Optimization) show the experiment failed, an outcome that eliminates a potential therapeutic shortcut and gives clinicians plenty to talk about as they plan trials.

CHICAGO – Like the late-stage adjuvant breast cancer study that failed but brought big benefits, a phase III study comparing the four commonest, first-line regimens in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) without KRAS mutations may have seemed a letdown at first.

CHICAGO – Side effects of fatigue and excitability set in among attendees during the fourth day of sessions, as the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) continued and immuno-oncology (IO) stole the show as predicted. Melanoma drew special attention, especially ipilimumab (Yervoy, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.) and Merck & Co. Inc. with its PD-1 inhibitor, but there was plenty more.