| Glaxo Halts 'Red Wine' Drug Trial In a possible setback for scientists attempting to make drugs out of a substance found in red wine, GlaxoSmithKline halted a clinical trial of one drug in cancer patients due to safety concerns. online.wsj.com |
FDA Warns on Antibiotics in Livestock The FDA, worried about the rise of drug-resistant pathogens, stepped up its campaign to discourage the use of human antibiotics in farm animals. online.wsj.com |
Pfizer Halts Trial of Pain Drug: Biotech's Latest Mishaps The Burrill Report submits: Pfizer (PFE) said it was halting a trial of its experimental drug tanezumab to treat chronic low back pain and diabetic peripheral neuropathy at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Investigation of the compound continues in some areas of high unmet medical need, including cancer pain, the pharmaceutical company said. The FDA's request follows reports of adverse events in osteoarthritis patients taking tanezumab, and the agency's concerns regarding the potential for such events in other patient populations in which the compound is being studied. Pfizer said it will continue to work with the FDA to reach a common understanding about the appropriate scope of continued clinical investigation of tanezumab. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel is advising the agency to revoke Roche's (RHHBY.PK) right to market Avastin as a treatment for metastatic breast cancer after additional trial data convinced it that the biologic's risks might outweigh its benefits. The recommendation could put a $1 billion dent in Avastin's global sales some reports say, slicing as much as a sixth off Roche's $6 billion take from the drug in 2009 and opening up fears that European regulators may also revisit their approval of the drug's use in treating advanced breast cancer. Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Is Celldex Therapeutics on the Rebound? VFC submits: Barely a week after news broke that Pfizer (PFE) had kicked Celldex Therapeutics (CLDX) to the curb sending the stock price into a steep and rapid decline, CLDX is already on the rebound with a more than twelve percent jump on Monday. There has been no news release that would justify the quick reversal, although a round of insider buying just days after the Pfizer news may have provided a boost in confidence for investors who were shaken and stirred by the bad news. That said, the purchases were for 3,000 shares (by Director Harry Penner) and 2,000 shares (by Officer Avery Catling), by no means convincing purchases. Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Insight Imaging Enters into Agreement to Sell Seven Imaging Centers [Business Wire] - InSight Health Services Holdings Corp. today announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to sell six imaging centers in El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces, New Mexico, and one imaging center in California. us.rd.yahoo.com |