With a successful initial public offering on the Nasdaq market behind it, GW Pharmaceuticals Plc is recruiting patients for two pivotal studies that will examine the efficacy of its cannabis medicine, Sativex, as a treatment for cancer pain.
Sanofi Pasteur has started a Phase 3 trial of a new vaccine for the prevention of Clostridium difficile infection, a potentially life-threatening bacterium that causes intestinal disease. The trial will enrol up to 15,000 adults in 17 countries.
Noxxon Pharma AG has finished recruitment for its Phase 2a study in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus at risk of diabetic nephropathy. The oligonucleotide therapy is intended to neutralise the pro-inflammatory chemokine CCL2.
Roche has stopped a Phase 3 trial of aleglitazar for patients with Type 2 diabetes who are at risk of cardiovascular disease because of adverse events and a lack of efficacy. This follows a review by an independent data and safety monitoring board.
Novartis said that top-line results from a Phase 3 study of its monoclonal antibody secukinumab for psoriasis, have demonstrated superiority in clearing skin compared with the standard of care, Enbrel (etanercept). The antibody targets interleukin-17A.
What do age-related hearing loss and schizophrenia have in common? Not much, on the face of it. However there is growing evidence that the two disorders may have a link through the dysfunction of certain ion channels in the central nervous system. Ion channels are membrane proteins that help convert chemical or mechanical messages into electrical signals in the cell.
A Phase 4 post-marketing trial of the Type 2 diabetes drug Onglyza (saxagliptin) in patients with a history of cardiovascular disease met the primary safety objective of non-inferiority, but did not show superiority versus placebo, the sponsors said.
Eli Lilly and Company has stopped a Phase 2 study of a beta secretase inhibitor being investigated in Alzheimer’s disease as a result of abnormal liver tests in patients. The decision doesn’t affect other compounds in development, the company said.
AstraZeneca Plc has said it will not seek to register fostamatinib, a spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) inhibitor for rheumatoid arthritis, following disappointing results from a Phase 3 programme. It will return rights to its partner, Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA) SA of France has raised €4.8 million in a placement of its shares with existing and new investors in order to finance an expansion of its manufacturing capacity for radioactive agents for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging. Funds will also be used to investigate a second indication for the company’s radiopharmaceutical for cancer, Lutathera.