His disappointment palpable, Robert Forrester, Verastem Inc.'s president and CEO, told analysts Monday morning that the decision to halt the phase II study, COMMAND, of lead candidate VS-6063 (defactinib) for futility in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) was a blow not just to development plans by the Boston-based company but also to physicians and patients, who have few options to treat the aggressive cancer. Read More
Roche AG established a firm lead in its effort to deliver the first approved therapy for primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), reporting on Monday that its CD20-targeted MAb, ocrelizumab, helped patients achieve a sustained and significant reduction in clinical disability vs. placebo over 12 weeks. Read More
HONG KONG – A new multiethnic genomewide association study (GWAS) by an international research consortium has identified 12 new genetic loci influencing blood pressure and indicated a role for DNA methylation in blood pressure regulation, which could have important implications for the development of new antihypertensive treatments. Read More
As the market awaits first data from a phase II trial in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) around the middle of next year, Epizyme Inc. disclosed results showing that none of three patients with synovial sarcoma in the phase I trial with first-in-class EZH2 inhibitor tazemetostat showed a clinical response, but the firm is continuing with a phase II experiment in such patients as well. Read More
The prognosis is looking even bleaker for diagnostics, which are already caught in a deadlock of court rulings on patentability and a general lack of exclusivity. Read More
TOKYO – Japan's Taiho Oncology Inc. won U.S. FDA approval for its oral combination anticancer drug TAS-102 (trifluridine hydrochloride) for refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), which is marketed in Japan under the brand name Lonsurf. Read More
Cellectar Biosciences Inc., of Madison, Wisc., priced a registered direct offering of 1.01 million shares of its common stock and series B pre-funded warrants to purchase 482,728 shares of common stock at $2.20 per share. Read More
Kolltan Pharmaceuticals Inc., of New Haven, Conn., disclosed data from a preclinical study evaluating KTN0158 in dogs with spontaneous mast cell tumors. Read More
Eli Lilly and Co., of Indianapolis, reported data from a phase II study of Cyramza (ramucirumab) in combination with docetaxel met its primary endpoint, demonstrating a statistically significant increase in progression-free survival (PFS) for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who failed prior platinum-based therapy. Read More
Anavex Life Sciences Corp., of New York, said it completed patient enrollment for the phase IIa trial of lead compound Anavex 2-73 in Alzheimer's disease (AD) ahead of schedule and expects to release top-line data for Part A by year-end. Read More
