NEWS & COMMENTS

PROHOST    FILTER

     We have good news from SEQUENOM (SQNM), AMGEN (AMGN) and XOMA (XOMA) and mixed news for IMCLONE (IMCL) at a day that looks positive for the market.

     The Department of Bioengineering at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) has implemented the MassARRAY® system from Sequenom to conduct automated high throughput mutation detection in microbial genomes and mixed microbial populations. A paper published on the journal Nature Genetics' Web site and will be included in the November 2006 print issue enumerates the possibilities of a comprehensive genetical and biochemical analysis of experimentally evolved microorganisms. A link to the article will be available on Sequenom's Web site at www.sequenom.com.

READ MORE:  Study Published in 'Nature Genetics' by the University of California, San Diego Utilizes SEQUENOM's MassARRAY System in a Comprehensive Analysis of Microbial Evolution

     From Amgen (AMGN): The firm's investigational oral anticancer drug, AMG 706, a VEGF receptor inhibitor has demonstrated encouraging clinical activity in patients with advanced high-dose imatinib-resistant gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). These data were presented in an oral session at the Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS) meeting in Venice, Italy.

READ MORE: AMG 706 Shows Activity in Phase 2 Study of Patients with Advanced Imatinib-Resistant Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

      From Xoma (XOMA), news announced that the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) of the United Kingdom has approved Xoma’s cGMP pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities for the production of biological investigational medicinal products to be used in clinical trials in the European Union.

READ MORE: XOMA Receives European Certification to Manufacture Investigational Medicinal Products

     From Imclone (IMCL), a study comparing Erbitiux plus best supportive care to best supportive care alone has shown a statistically significant improvement in overall survival in trials on 572 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. These patients’ cancer was refractory to all available chemotherapy, including irinotecan, oxaliplatin, and fluoropyrimidines. These results are the first data of an anticancer therapy to demonstrate overall survival in this refractory treatment setting. The NCIC CTG is scheduled to submit the data from this study for presentation at a major medical meeting in 2007.

     Results of a second Phase III, randomized study, known as the Erbitux Plus Irinotecan in Colorectal Cancer (EPIC), compared irinotecan to irinotecan plus ERBITUX in approximately 1,300 patients whose disease was not responding to first-line oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy although favored the combination of Erbitux plus irinotecan over irinotecan alone, the primary endpoint (overall survival) was not met.

READ MORE: Survival Data Available from Two Randomized ERBITUX Studies in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

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