8 October - Genmab have announced that data showing that rheumatoid arthritis patients who participated in the ofatumumab (HuMax-CD20®) Phase II study achieved long lasting results at the 48 week follow up period. The data will be presented in a poster session at the ACR/ARHP 2008 Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco, California on October 26, 2008.
7 October - 125 patient, prospective randomized placebo-controlled phase II study shows statistically significant improved overall survival. Bavarian Nordic has now evaluated the mature phase II data from the therapeutic prostate cancer vaccine candidate PROSTVACTM that had been obtained as part of the recently entered partnership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the US. The results from the Phase II prospective randomized placebo-controlled study of 125 patients with advanced prostate cancer after 4 years of follow-up show that patients receiving PROSTVACTM had a statistically significantly longer median overall survival by 8.5 months (p=0.015) compared to the control group.
6 October - Biogen Idec along with Genentech have announced that a global Phase III study of Rituxan® (rituximab) in combination with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide chemotherapy met its primary endpoint of improving progression-free survival, as assessed by investigators, in patients with previously treated CD20-positive chronic lymphocytic leukemia compared to chemotherapy alone. There were no new or unexpected safety signals reported in the study. An independent review of the primary endpoint is being conducted for U.S. regulatory purposes.
25 September - Data from a 52-week phase 3 study (LEADTM 3) of liraglutide, a once-daily human GLP-1 analogue, were published today by The Lancet. The study showed that liraglutide, when taken alone, produces statistically significant and sustained improvements in blood sugar control in patients with early type 2 diabetes, as compared with glimepiride, a widely used oral antidiabetic drug. Moreover, the treatment with liraglutide leads to weight loss, reduced systolic blood pressure and lower rates of hypoglycaemia after 52 weeks of treatment.
Earlier issues are available through our news archive.