Cancer Clinical Trials and Treatments Late Stage Developments

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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

Top Weekly Performers in Biopharma

Top Weekly Performers from:
Fri 04 Sep vs. Fri 28 Aug


Top 15 Gains (%) - ranked on change in share price



Rank/Company/Currency/Market Cap/Change in Market Cap/Notes

1 Nutra Pharma USD +89% 74M +34
Sep 2: Shares rise on 12.5x average daily trading volume.

2 Aerocrine SEK +65% 144M +57
Sep 3: Health Canada approves Aerocrine's Niox Mino, a medical device that measures inflammation in the airways, for use in treating asthma.

3 Peplin AUD +50% 129M +43
Sep 2: Leo Pharma announces agreed takeover of Peplin, for $288m.

4 Facet Biotech USD +48% 378M +123
Sep 4: Company receives a hostile takeover offer from Biogen Idec at $14.50 per share, having previously rejected a $15 per share offer; Biogen's offer values Facet at $355m, only around $45m higher than Facet's estimated cash of $310m; Facet's shares closed at $15.38 suggesting that the market expects Biogen will eventually have to raise its bid to close the deal.

5 The Medicines Company USD +46% 583M +184
Sep 2: Company announces that it has received a new patent from the US patent office for its anti-clotting drug, Angiomax, raising analyst hopes that onset of generic competition for the drug will be delayed.

6 Sinovac Biotech USD +45% 388M +120
Sep 3: The Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) issues a production license for the company's H1N1 swine flu vaccine, Panflu, prompting the company to raise its revenue guidance for the year to greater than 20% growth. 31 Aug: Company receives a positive opinion for Panflu by an expert committee held by the Chinese SFDA.

7 Diamyd Medical SEK +36% 162M +42
Sep 3: Company reports 4-year follow-up data from a phase II trial of type 1 diabetes patients who received just two injections of Diamyd vaccine.

8 Jazz Pharmaceuticals USD +31% 287M +68
Sep 4: Shares rise on 5.5x average daily trading volume.

9 Transcept Pharmaceuticals USD +24% 164M +31

10 Algeta NOK +24% 337M +64
Sep 3: Company licenses global rights to its phase III, bone metastases cancer drug, Alpharadin, to Bayer for $61m upfront and potentially $800m in total, whilst retaining a 50% co-promotion and profit-share option in the US; Bayer will cover the majority of further developmental costs for Alpharadin.

11 AVI BioPharma USD +23% 191M +36
Shares of companies engaged in the development of a swine flu vaccine rise following a positive recommendation for Sinovac Biotech's swine flu vaccine in China on 31 Aug.

12 Protalix BioTherapeutics USD +23% 565M +107
Sep 3: Shares rise to a one-year high of $7.57 on increasing confidence in the company's Gaucher disease product, prGCD, and heightened speculation the company is a takeover target given its low cost plant cell-based biological manufacturing technology. 2 Sep: Hapoalim Securities initiates coverage with an "outperform" rating and price target of $10, claiming Teva could be a likely acquirer. 1 Sep: Shares rise on 5.5x average daily trading volume.

13 Sepracor USD +23% 2533M +470
Sep 2: Shares rise to a five-year high prior to a halt in trading on news that the company is to be acquired by Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma for $23 per share, or $2.7bn in total.

14 Cellectis EUR +21% 186M +33
Sep 1: Monsanto licenses the use of Cellectis' genome modification technology for the development of meganuclease technology in plants; company to receive €3m upfront, milestones and royalties.

15 Curis USD +21% 159M +27
Sept 2[post-market]: The New England Journal of Medicine publishes two encouraging papers on GDC-0449, a drug which targets the hedgehog pathway, including phase I data from a trial in the rare skin cancer basal cell carcinoma; Curis and partner Roche have a phase II trial in the indication ongoing; the papers raise hopes that the drug will prove successful in fighting skin cancer and possibly other tumour types.