Research published in the Lancet Oncology suggests that the use of high intensity focused ultrasound may be an alternative to surgery or radiotherapy to treat men with prostate cancer, with fewer side effects. The study involved 42 patients.
Merck & Co Inc is to pay Endocyte Inc $120 million upfront and up to $880 million in performance-based milestones for rights to a candidate compound for ovarian cancer, vintafolide. The compound is being tested with a companion diagnostic.
Oxford BioMedica Plc said that its gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease, ProSavin, met is primary endpoint in a Phase 1/2 study which evaluated the safety of the medicine in three ascending doses. Fifteen patients participated in the trial.
UCB SA said that a Phase 3 study of its antibody, Cimzia (certolizumab pegol), in the new indication of axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) reached its primary endpoint. Cimzia is a peglated, anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) compound.
The Roche group said sales of its pharmaceutical products should accelerate in 2012 giving a rate of growth in the low to mid-single-digits. This follows a first quarter in which group and pharmaceutical sales rose by 2% in constant currencies.
Risk sharing deals in drug development often involve a Big Pharma company and a small, research-intensive biotech. Typically, the larger partner pays for rights to a promising asset on the expectation that its investment will pay off years later when the compound becomes a marketed pharmaceutical. Very often the larger company is cash rich, while the smaller one is cash poor but rich in intellectual property.
Shire Plc has reached an agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of privately-held Pervasis Therapeutics Inc of Cambridge, Massachusetts which has a clinical-stage, cell-based therapy for enhancing blood vessel repair.
Wilex AG expects to file for the registration of its experimental antibody for renal cell carcinoma, girentuximab, in the US and Europe during the first half of 2013. Data from a pivotal trial of the drug are expected in the fourth quarter of this year.
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd has agreed to pay $800 million upfront, plus future performance-based milestones, for privately-owned URL Pharma Inc. URL has a marketed product for gout that had 2011 net sales of $430 million.
Wilex AG has announced the start of a Phase 1b/2 trial in patients with solid tumours of its experimental drug that inhibits the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK). The study will be conducted in the UK.