Clinical Research

Parkinson’s vaccine shown to be safe

Country
Austria

A new therapeutic vaccine intended to alter the course of Parkinson’s disease has passed its first clinical hurdle following a Phase 1 study that showed the agent is safe and well-tolerated in patients. The vaccine has been developed by Affiris AG of Austria.

GSK melanoma trial stopped early

Country
United Kingdom

A Phase 3 trial of a combination therapy for metastatic melanoma has been stopped early because an interim analysis showed an overall survival benefit for the treatment group compared with the control, according to the developer GlaxoSmithKline Plc.

Protein structure displayed

Country
United Kingdom

Scientists at Heptares Therapeutics Ltd of the UK have described for the first time the structure of a domain of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCRs) complex – membrane proteins that are involved in a broad range of biological processes and diseases. The findings were published online in Nature.

Dengue vaccine effective

Country
France

A vaccine designed to protect children in poorer nations against infection from the Dengue virus has been shown to be effective in a Phase 3 trial which was carried out over two years in five countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Immatics completes Series D funding

Country
Germany

Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH has received €22 million from its venture capital investors – the final tranche in a Series D round that will enable it to complete a Phase 3 trial of a cancer vaccine for renal cell carcinoma, a type of kidney cancer.

Roche melanoma trial reaches endpoint

Country
Switzerland

A Phase 3 trial of a new combination therapy for advanced melanoma has reached its primary endpoint of progression-free survival, the Roche Group announced. The trial was investigating Zelboraf and the experimental drug cobimetinib versus Zelboraf alone.

Desmoteplase misses endpoint in stroke

Country
Denmark

Desmoteplase, one of the few new therapies under development for patients suffering from stroke, has failed to show efficacy in the first of two Phase 3 clinical trials. The developer, H. Lundbeck A/S, said it will seek advice on the way forward.

Ofatumumab misses endpoint in CLL trial

Country
Denmark

A monoclonal antibody being developed by GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Genmab A/S for the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) has failed to meet its primary endpoint of progression-free survival in a small subset of patients with the disease.

Eisai gives real world data for epilepsy drug

Country
Japan

Eisai Co Ltd said that real-world data for its epilepsy drug Fycompa (perampanel) show that the treatment is “generally effective and well tolerated” in a variety of patient populations including those with highly refractory epilepsy and comorbidities.

Nivolumab melanoma trial stopped early

Country
United States

A Phase 3 study of the checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab in patients with advanced melanoma has been stopped early because of evidence that the antibody treatment was achieving superior overall survival compared with the control arm which was chemotherapy.