News

Novartis says JAK inhibitor meets primary endpoint

Country
Switzerland

Novartis said that its Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, ruxolitinib, has met its primary endpoint of significantly reducing spleen size in patients with myelofibrosis, a blood cancer characterised by bone marrow failure, in a second Phase 3 trial.

Chroma Therapeutics partners tosedostat

Country
United Kingdom

Chroma Therapeutics Ltd is set to receive $5 million upfront from Cell Therapeutics Inc of Seattle, Washington has part of a co-development and licensing agreement for the candidate cancer drug, tosedostat. The drug is being tested in AML.

Otelixizumab fails in diabetes trial

Country
United States

Tolerx Inc and GlaxoSmithKline Plc announced that a Phase 3 trial of otelixizumab for patients with new-onset Type 1 diabetes did not meet the primary efficacy endpoint of change in C-peptide, a marker of beta cell function, at 12 months.

Aflibercept fails in NSCLC trial

Country
France

Sanofi-Aventis SA and its partner, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, have announced that their Phase 3 trial of the candidate drug, aflibercept, for second-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, combined with docetaxel, did not extend overall survival.

FDA takes action against McNeil-PPC on GMP violations

Country
United States

The US Food and Drug Administration announced that it has taken action against the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, McNeil-PPC, for failing to comply with current good manufacturing practice requirements at three sites.

Bavarian Nordic considers rights issue

Country
Denmark

Bavarian Nordic A/S is considering a rights issue to help finance a Phase 3 trial of its therapeutic vaccine for prostate cancer, Prostvac. The Danish company earlier reached an agreement with the FDA on the design and endpoints for a pivotal study.

Evotec in diabetes research deal

Country
Germany

Evotec AG has announced the establishment of a research collaboration with Harvard University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the US to discover and develop new treatments for diabetes. Financial terms were not disclosed.

FDA approves Benlysta for lupus

Country
United States

The US Food and Drug Administration has announced the approval of Benlysta (belimumab) to treat patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. It is the first new drug to be approved for this disease since 1955. The developers are GSK and Human Genome Sciences.

FDA panel recommends Novartis’s bronchodilator

Country
United States

An advisory panel of the US Food and Drug Administration has recommended approval of Novartis’s indacaterol as the first once-daily, long-term maintenance bronchodilator treatment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.