Tag Archives: BMY

Major trends in cancer drug development – Notes from TAT 2013

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Earlier this month, I attended the TAT (Targeted anticancer therapies) congress in Paris. This conference focuses exclusively on targeted therapies for cancer, one of the most active areas in drug development. As a small conference (~500 participants), it does not generate a lot of high profile clinical data, still, it is a great opportunity to “feel the pulse” of oncology drug development. Speakers include clinical oncologists, basic scientists and industry researchers, which provide a fairly broad spectrum with respect to existing and upcoming trends.

Here, I focus on three major themes from the meeting: PD-1 inhibitors, antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) and cancer metabolism. Continue reading →

Winners of ASCO 2012

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BMS’ PD-1 antibody – As good as it gets

The biggest news at this year’s ASCO came from BMS’ (BMY) PD-1 antibody, BMS-936558. This antibody belongs to a new class of antibodies that stimulate patients’ immune system to attack cancer. This approach has been recently validated with another BMS antibody, Yervoy, which was approved last year for melanoma.

Based on results presented at the meeting, BMS-936558 is superior to Yervoy by any measure. In fact, it is probably one of the most promising oncology drugs ever to be tested in humans. It induces tumor shrinkage in a substantial portion of patients, creates an immune response that keeps the disease under control for long periods and it does so with limited side effects. To make things even better, there might be a way to pre-select patients who are more likely to respond to this agent. Continue reading →

Drugs to watch at ASCO 2012

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Below is a list of drugs and companies which will have meaningful data at this year’s annual meeting of American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). As I will be attending this year’s conference, I will try to write updates on a regular basis. Feel free to send me questions or post them as comments to this post. Continue reading →

BMS zeroes in on its next blockbuster

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Last week BMS (BMY) increased its stake in BMS-936558 (formerly MDX-1106) by regaining worldwide marketing rights for the drug except in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. This was the result of a deal with Ono Pharmaceutical, who originally held ex-US rights for the drug. In return, Ono received marketing rights for Orencia, a BMS drug  for Rheumatoid arthritis which is already in the market. BMS’ decision to exchange its stake in a product with real sales in return for a candidate in mid stage clinical development might seem odd at first glance, but a quick look at BMS-936558’s data is enough to understand the deal was a brilliant move.  

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Drugs to Watch at ASCO 2011

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More melanoma breakthroughs

This year’s meeting will probably be remembered as a historical event with regards to melanoma. Last year, it was a phase III trial for BMS’ (BMY) Yervoy (ipilimumab), which was the first in history to show a survival benefit in advanced melanoma patients (discussed in my ASCO 2010 write up). This trial led to Yervoy’s historical approval 3 months ago.

This year, investigators will present studies evaluating Yervoy as well as Plexxikon/Roche’s vemurafenib in pretreated melanoma patients. Yervoy was evaluated in combination with chemotherapy while vemurafenib was compared with chemotherapy. According to BMS’ and Roche’s press releases, both studies were successful and each drug led to a survival benefit.  The extent of this benefit is still unknown and will be revealed only at the conference. Continue reading →

Top 10 Oncology Drugs Available For Partnering (Part I)

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One of the questions I am frequently asked is whether there are any good oncology drugs out there which are still available for partnering. The past years saw a surge in licensing and M&A deals, however, there are still several high quality assets out there being developed independently by small or mid cap biotechs. Below are ten companies with promising wholly-owned development stage programs, in alphabetical order.  

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Synta’s lead program gains momentum

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In the pharmaceutical industry, it is very common to see multiple drugs in development that go after the same target. Usually, there is a direct correlation between the recognition a target has and the number of competing agents. This is the case with “hot targets” such as PI3K,RAF and mTOR, which are pursued by many pharma and biotech companies.

 

In most cases (especially with targeted therapies), the different compounds are being developed in parallel, and there is no way of identifying a clear winner. This can persist even after approval. For instance, both BMS Pfizer and Novartis (NVS) have an mTOR inhibitor on the market for the treatment of renal cancer. It is clear both drugs are active but each compound was approved based on a different trial in a different patient population, so neither can claim superiority.

 

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Exelixis – Back on Track

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After a challenging year, Exelixis (EXEL) is finishing 2010 on a positive note, with the help of promising data for its lead agent, XL184. Last week at the EORTC conference, the company published data from a large phase II study in multiple cancer types. The results came at a crucial time for Exelixis, as many were questioning the value of XL184 following BMS’ (BMY) decision to opt-out of its development. As discussed in a previous post, when a partner like BMS dumps a late stage clinical asset after a licensing payment of over $150M, the alarm bells start ringing.

XL184 inhibits several targets, primarily VEGFR2 and Met. As a multi-targeted kinase inhibitor, the drug has some overlap with other drugs, primarily VEGFR inhibitors. There are two drugs that inhibit VEGFR (in addition to other targets) currently in the market as well as a long list of VEGFR inhibitors in late stage clinical testing from GSK (GSK), AstraZeneca (AZN), BMS and Aveo (AVEO). The main question regarding XL184 is whether the drug has a differentiated clinical profile in comparison to other VEGFR inhibitors. Based on recent data presented at EORTC the answer is a resounding “YES”. Continue reading →

Immunogen – What really happened with T-DM1’s filing?

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Last week, Roche announced that the FDA was unwilling to accept T-DM1’s accelerated approval filing for breast cancer, sending Immunogen’s (IMGN) shares tumbling almost 40%. The filing was based on impressive results from a single arm phase II trial in 3rd line HER2 breast cancer. Typically, gaining regulatory approval requires a large, randomized phase III study but in cases of highly unmet need where patients are bereft of effective treatment options, the FDA may consider approval in a limited patient population.

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Synta is heating up

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Synta (SNTA) is recuperating nicely from last year’s meltdown following the failure of its melanoma drug, elesclomol. The company is gaining momentum thanks to its early stage Hsp90 (heat shock protein 90) inhibitor, STA-9090. STA-9090 seems to garner a lot of attention in the medical community following the presentation of encouraging phase I data at ASCO last June. Based on the preliminary results, STA-9090 could be what the industry has been waiting for: A broad and potent Hsp90 with an acceptable safety profile.

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