Cancer Clinical Trials and Treatments Late Stage Developments

Image via WikipediaFrom FierceBiotech

For the cancer drug research enthusiast, this report might read in places like a special oncology edition of a gun magazine. Indeed, there are plenty of weapons against cancer to read about here. Several of the drugs listed here represent the advancement of relatively new methods of attacking cancer, including "armed antibodies" and cancer-killing viruses.

 In addition, decades of basic research into the molecular drivers of cancer growth are bearing fruit for drug developers. Not only are these companies making progress in clinical trials, they have landed buyout deals and lucrative partnerships. It's also clear that relatively small companies like Aveo Pharmaceuticals and Curis are making inroads along side the big boys like Pfizer and Roche.

There are 10 late-stage drugs listed in this report, but this editor hesitates to call them the "Top 10" only because there are so many variables to consider to rank them in such a way objectively. Yet these 10 drugs have certainly been generating news and, in most cases, lots of interest among investors and the medical community. All of the drugs have reached pivotal trials for at least one type of cancer.
Here's the list in alphabetical order by each drug's most commonly used moniker, whether that is its alphanumeric code name or generic name. As always, please let us know whether you think there are cancer drugs in pivotal trials that you think should have been on this list or ones on this list that shouldn't be.

1. Carfilzomib - multiple myeloma
2. Crizotinib (PF-02341066) - lung cancer
3. GDC-0449 (vismodegib) - basal cell carcinoma
4. OncoVex - advanced melanoma
5. PLX4032 (RG7204) - melanoma
6. Ponatinib - leukemia
7. SGN-35 (brentuximab vedotin) - Hodgkin's lymphoma, anaplastic large cell lymphomas
8. Tivozanib (AV-951) - advanced renal cell carcinoma
9. T-DM1 (Trastuzumab-DM1) - breast cancer
10. XL184 (cabozantinib) -  prostate cancer

Anacor Pharmaceuticals and Psoriasis Make Strides With Phase IIb Trials

Image via Wikipedia Anacor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ANAC) announced today preliminary results from its Phase 2b trial of AN2728 for the treatment of mild-to-moderate plaque-type psoriasis. The trial enrolled 68 subjects randomized in a 2:1 ratio, AN2728 to vehicle. Subjects treated with AN2728 showed improvement over vehicle at each of the recorded timepoints during the 12-week study period with peak efficacy of 26% occurring after six weeks of treatment with AN2728.

GEN | Analysis & Insight: Cloud Computing Augments Clinical Trial Process

GEN | Analysis & Insight: Cloud Computing Augments Clinical Trial Process

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Pharma and biotech companies have so far tended to use cloud computing services for drug development research, not clinical trials. IBM and other smaller tech companies would like to change all that, though. Additionally, applying cloud computing for data analysis to aid patient care is catching on. As cloud computing extends to clinical data analysis, which would be considered private information, security will loom larger as an issue for drug development companies. The benefits of using the cloud to store, manage, and analyze clinical data are similar to those for other drug development work. The cloud offers time on gigantic, dispersed infrastructures on a pay-as-you-go basis. It is estimated that 8–12% of clinical trial costs come from the need to move data around among various trial sites, comparing the data as it is being created, according to Erich Clementi, vp of strategy and GM of enterprise initiatives at IBM. Additionally, for projects that require heavy data crunching, cloud computing enables vast amounts of processing at a lower cost. For example, Jeffrey T. Leek, Ph.D., assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and colleagues used an internally developed, open-source cloud-computing platform called Myrna for calculating differential gene expression in large RNA sequencing datasets. Running an analysis for a single RNA sequence on one laptop could take up to three weeks to complete, Dr. Leek explained. In contrast, by renting computers for cloud computation services for $65, Dr. Leek said he could get results back in an hour and 45 minutes.  Continued....

Another 2011 Standout: Peregrine Pharmaceuticals

Hepatitis C Virus Image via Wikipedia

Peregrine seems poised for growth in 2011
Written by Patrick Crutcher Tuesday, 11 January 2011

Zacks.com Profile:  PPHM

Peregrine Pharmaceutical Pipeline

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPHM) announced that it has initiated several trials in oncology and viral infections. They seem poised to garner attention from the Street over the coming months.
Continued

Aastrom Announces Phase II Clinical Results, Shares Sink

Good and Bad news for Aastrom Biosciences today.  Shares dropped heavily after Reuters reports that Aastrom's potential stem cell therapy did not meet a secondary endpoint for it's Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of Critical Limb Ischemia which can cause amputation in those who suffer from the disease.  I have seen this a few times lately, where a stock receives generally positive news, only to come crumbling down.  Aastrom simply rose too fast, too soon.

Yahoo Finance:  Aastrom Biosciences--(ASTM)

Aastrom Ischemia Therapy Data Disappoint; Shares Tank

*  Says study meets main safety and efficacy goal

*  Did not show significant amputation free survival
*  Shares fall 36 pct

Nov 18 (Reuters) - Aastrom Biosciences Inc (ASTM.O) reported its experimental ischemia treatment met its main goals, but the company's shares, which had soared in anticipation of the data, crashed as the secondary goal of the trial was not met.

The study met the primary goals of safety and efficacy in patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI), a cardiovascular condition that often leads to amputation of the limbs.

CLI is a painful condition caused by obstructions in the arteries that decreases blood flow to the limbs with no medical therapy available at present.