Amgen Inc. is tapping Nuevolution AB's Chemetics discovery platform to identify multiple small-molecule cancer and neurology candidates for difficult-to-drug targets.
Amid slower-than-anticipated sales of its second-line pancreatic cancer drug Onivyde (irinotecan liposome injection), Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. president and CEO Robert Mulroy resigned and the company moved to cut 22 percent of its work force in a major restructuring it said would prioritize its R&D efforts and eliminate more than $200 million in expected costs over the next two years.
Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it would discontinue development of EGFR-targeted tarloxotinib after the oncology candidate fell short of its expectations in dual phase II proof-of-concept trials.
With nearly 65,000 open studies listed on ClinicalTrials.gov exploring topics from AIDS to Zika, the arrival of better clinical care over time can feel inevitable. Yet, with most trials geared toward showing whether a therapy or device is safe and effective on its own and less so how it stacks up to other options, critical gaps in medical knowledge often remain. Which current treatments work best and for which patients is often unknown.
An elevated placebo response matching the efficacy of experimental schizophrenia drug ITI-007 in a phase III trial sent shares of its developer, Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc., (NASDAQ:ITCI) down 63.6 percent to close at $15.42 on Thursday.
Amgen Inc. said a regimen of Kyprolis (carfilzomib), melphalan and prednisone failed to extend median progression-free survival for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients beyond what's delivered by a similar regimen anchored instead by Takeda Oncology Co.'s Velcade (bortezomib).
Shares of Array Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:ARRY) climbed 81 percent to close at $6.61 on Monday after the Boulder, Colo.-based company announced that the first part of its phase III COLUMBUS trial in BRAF-mutant melanoma met its primary endpoint, a good sign for the company's prospects of engaging with the growing market opportunity represented by MEK /BRAF inhibitors.
Mast Therapeutics Inc. expects to quit development of its lead candidate, vepoloxamer, after it failed to significantly outperform a placebo in shortening the duration of vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) in the phase III trial EPIC.
Allergan plc agreed to pay about $600 million cash and up to $1.1 billion in milestone-based contingent value rights to acquire the non-alcoholic steatohepatitis specialist Tobira Therapeutics Inc. in a deal that adds two complementary candidates, cenicriviroc and evogliptin, to its growing R&D pipeline and heated up competitors' stocks on Tuesday.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. reported on Monday that a phase II trial of its experimental Huntington's disease (HD) drug pridopidine showed a statistically significant impact on disease progression at 52 weeks vs. placebo.
