News

Active Biotech/Ipsen’s prostate cancer drug mechanism clouds opinion of improving overall survival

Active Biotech (STO:ACTI) and Ipsen’s (EPA:IPN) tasquinimod has experts uncertain on whether it can delay time to death in prostate cancer patients, experts told BioPharm Insight. Although tasquinimod demonstrated the ability to delay disease worsening, they were ambiguous on whether tasquinimod’s ability to limit the formation of new blood vessels, or angiogenesis, can stop tumour growth and progression.

In prostate cancer, several antiangiogenic drugs have failed to translate benefits in delaying disease worsening, or progression-free survival (PFS), into a delay in time to death, or overall survival (OS), the experts noted. Thus far, tasquinimod’s demonstration of therapeutic benefits in clinical trials, or efficacy results, could be driven by a number of other proposed drug mechanisms.

Tasquinimod is in a Phase III trial - the final clinical stage - for the treatment of metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The primary endpoint is PFS, and the secondary endpoint is OS. PFS is the time after treatment that a patient lives without the cancer getting worse, where as OS is the length of time from the start of treatment for which those patients are still alive.

Trial enrolment completed in December 2012.

More: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/676b24c2-7baa-11e2-95b9-00144feabdc0.html

Too Many Biotechnology Bargains: Which Is The Best Bet For 2013?

There are many articles on Seeking Alpha on the biotechnology companies -- Vivus Inc. (VVUS), Amgen Inc. (AMGN), Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO), Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) and Celgene Corporation (CELG). They have a very similar story to tell. They are selling at relative price multiples that are below or close to the industry average. However, the more important question is which is the best bargain among the five stocks? There is limited analysis comparing the biotechnology companies on similar parameters, even though many analysts are making separate arguments built along the same lines.

In this article, we will look at some valuation measures, historical performance indicators, and forward growth estimates to see if we can determine which of these companies could be a profitable investment in 2013.

Read more: http://seekingalpha.com/article/1207281-too-many-biotechnology-bargains-which-is-the-best-bet-for-2013

Big Bang Theory Challenged by Big Chill

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ScienceDaily (Aug. 20, 2012) — The start of the Universe should be modeled not as a Big Bang but more like water freezing into ice, according to a team of theoretical physicists at the University of Melbourne and RMIT University.

Why Aren't There More Stars?

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ScienceDaily (Aug. 20, 2012) — Boston University undergraduate researcher Rob Marchwinski and his colleagues in BU’s Astronomy Department may have found the answer to a universal question: Why aren’t there more stars?

Rover's Laser Instrument Zaps First Martian Rock

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ScienceDaily (Aug. 19, 2012) — Today, NASA's Mars rover Curiosity fired its laser for the first time on Mars, using the beam from a science instrument to interrogate a fist-size rock called "Coronation."