Chemistry World Blog

PHARMACEUTICAL

Pfizer drops Celldex brain cancer drug

Pharma giant Pfizer has pulled out of its 2008 deal with Celldex to develop and commercialise the brain cancer vaccine rindopepimut.

According to the US biotech, Pfizer has decided the project is ‘no longer a strategic priority’ and from 1 November will play no further part.

The candidate combats glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and most aggressive form of brain cancer and for which it has orphan drug and fast track status in the US. Phase II trials have been completed.

‘We are fully committed to developing rindopepimut for the patients who suffer from this fatal disease,’ said Anthony Marucci, Celldex president and chief executive. ‘We believe the programme is very well-positioned to advance into pivotal clinical studies and that the GBM market remains extremely attractive.’

In April 2008, Pfizer agreed to pay $50 million (£32 million), $40 million upfront and $10 million as an equity stake, for the global rights. It also agreed over $390 million in potential milestone payments and double-digit royalties on sales.

Lost art yields Novartis malaria candidate

Novartis has struck upon an oral drug candidate that can clear malaria in mice as a once-daily dose.

The results are in via a study in Science: the candidate, a member of the spiroindolones, has a novel mode of action, suppressing protein expression in the parasite. ‘Our lead compound displays good antimalarial activity and meets the criteria required for an antimalarial drug candidate,’ the authors say.

It marks a return to screening methods of candidate discovery, which have in recent years lost favour to so-called rational design at the molecular level.

The development project has support from the Wellcome Trust, the Medicines for Malaria Venture and others.

In July, researchers in Cambodia reported for the first time resistance to artemisinin, which as a combination drug is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a first-line treatment for malaria. 100 million patients use artemisinin combination drugs every year.

In 2008, there were approximately 247 million cases of malaria and nearly one million deaths attributable to the disease, according to the.

High promise for stroke patients

Phase III results for apixaban, an oral anticoagulant developed by drug company Bristol-Myers Squibb, show it is more effective than aspirin.

In patients with atrial fibrillation who were unsuitable for warfarin, it reduced the rate of stroke or systemic embolism by 54 per cent compared with aspirin.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) affects 4.5 million people in Europe and 2.2 million in the US. Patients with AF are five times more likely to suffer a stroke.

The results were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Stockholm, Sweden.

This is good news for both the companies involved. But everyone knows the real test is against warfarin, the first-line AF treatment. Results from the head-to-head study are expected in April 2011.

Apixaban was the subject of a deal with Pfizer signed in 2007 that included: an upfront payment of $250 million by Pfizer; up to $750 million for Bristol-Myers Squibb for development and regulatory milestones; and Pfizer picking up the bill for 60 per cent of the development costs. The companies agreed to share the costs and profits of commercialisation equally.

Other companies looking to profit in this area include Bayer and Johnson & Johnson – with Xarelto – and Boehringer Ingelheim.

The Boehringer drug Pradaxa will be reviewed by the US Food and Drug Administration advisory committee on 20 September.

CHEMICAL

GM potato contamination in BASF fields

Genetically modified (GM) potato plants that do not have regulatory approval have been found in Swedish fields of the Amflora GM variety developed by BASF.

The chemical major said that it had found ‘extremely small quantities’ – which represented ‘co-mingling’ of under 0.01 per cent – of Amadea potatoes among the Amflora potatoes during ‘regular in-house quality controls’.

The European Commission granted BASF permission to grow Amflora potatoes in March. The application for regulatory approval of Amadea potatoes, the second GM variety developed by the company, was submitted last week.

BASF says it has since removed all the Amadea plants and that none entered commercial starch production. The next steps to be taken are under discussion with the European Commission, among others.

Amflora and Amadea potatoes do not produce amylose starch, which in conventional varieties is produced with amylopectin starch. This makes them suited to potato starch applications in, for example, the paper, adhesive and food industries, where only amylopectin starch is needed.

The discovery is likely to reignite the GM debate in Europe, which to date has been highly resistant to GM crops compared with other parts of the world.

AkzoNobel looks east for car paint business

Chemical giant AkzoNobel has agreed to buy Chinese paint company Changzhou Prime Automotive Paint, a move intended to boost its presence in the Chinese automotive market. Financial details were not disclosed.

Prime develops, manufactures, markets and distributes automotive coatings, primarily for the refinish market, which AkzoNobel says will double in size in the next five years.

AkzoNobel chief executive Hans Wijers said recently that the company plans to double its sales in China to $3 billion in five years.

Keith Power, AkzoNobel regional director for the car refinishes business in Asia said: ‘This is an important transaction which gives us access to superior products and new technologies – supported by strong brands and a loyal distributor base – enabling us to gain a competitive advantage in a market with sizeable potential where we previously had limited presence.’

Andrew Turley