
REVIEW IN ONCOLOGY
During the week of July 12, 2009 (from July 12, 2009 to July 18, 2009) significant news items pertaining to the oncology sector were reported including:
1. Oncolytics Biotech (ONCY, Market Outperform) presented data demonstrating the synergy of reovirus in combination with temozolomide and radiation for the treatment of glioma xenografts at the 28th American Society for Virology Annual Meeting and separately published research on the synergy of reovirus and chemotherapy for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC);
2. Genta (GETA.OB, Market Perform) reported publication of a paper that independently confirms the link of a key biomarker, a tumor-derived enzyme known as lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), to overall survival in patients with advanced melanoma;
3. CytRx’s (CYTR, Market Outperform) investigational cancer drug INNO-206 caused a dramatic destruction of implanted tumors in an experimental animal model of breast cancer, performing considerably better than the broadly used and generally effective chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin;
4. Array BioPharma (ARRY, Market Outperform) filed an investigational new drug (IND) application with the FDA to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the company’s most advanced wholly owned MEK inhibitor, ARRY-162, for the treatment of range of cancers;
5. OSI Pharmaceuticals’ (OSIP, Not Rated) and Genentech / Roche’s (RO.SW, Not Rated) pivotal Phase 3 study evaluating Tarceva for the treatment of advanced NSCLC, met a key secondary endpoint of extending overall survival in patients who received Tarceva after chemotherapy; and
6. Health Discovery’s (HDVY.OB, Not Rated) publication demonstrating the clinical validity of a 4-gene prostate cancer test licensed for commercialization to Abbott (ABT, Not Rated), Quest Diagnostics (DGX, Not Rated), and Clarient (CLRT, Not Rated) has been approved for publication.
Other companies mentioned in this report include:
1. Watson Pharmaceuticals (WPI, Not Rated)
2. Abraxis BioScience (ABII, Not Rated)
3. Cellceutix (CTIX.OB, Not Rated)
4. Roche (RO.SW, Not Rated)
5. Given Imaging (GIVN, Not Rated)
6. Imaging Diagnostic Systems (IMDS.OB, Not Rated)
7. BioDelivery Sciences International (BDSI, Not Rated)
8. PharmaGap (PHY.BE, Not Rated)
9. Sanofi-Aventis (SNY, Not Rated)
10. Bionovo (BNVI, Not Rated)
11. Febit holding gmbh (Privately Owned)
And many more…
REVIEW IN STEM CELLS
During the week of July 12, 2009 several significant news items pertaining to the stem cell sector were reported including:
1. Pluristem Therapeutics (PSTI, Not Rated) enrolled the first patient in a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of stem cells derived from human placental tissue for the treatment of critical limb ischemia; and
2. Scientists at the Bedford Stem Cell Research Foundation discovered cell characteristics that may explain important differences between embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.
ONCOLOGY AND STEM CELL JOURNAL REVIEW
We have searched recent journal articles and highlighted those that warrant investor attention.
ONCOLOGY AND STEM CELL CONFERENCES
We have compiled a conference calendar from July 2009 to December 2009. Data presented at these conferences may affect select companies within the biotech/pharma sector.