Novartis, which signed a deal with Antisoma Plc last year for the worldwide rights to ASA404, said it now assumed responsibility for development of the drug from the British biotechnology company.
The Swiss company had previously announced plans to start the Phase III trial in 2008 and the news does not change analysts’ estimates, with Landsbanki Kepler‘s Denise Anderson seeing a filing in 2011 or later.
Novartis shares, which have been hurt this week by the drugmaker’s $39 billion acquisition of eyecare company Alcon Inc, were 0.4% higher at 48.44 Swiss francs.
ASA404, if successful, would be the first in a new type of cancer treatment designed to disrupt the supply of blood to tumors.
It works in a different way from Roche Holding AG and Genentech Inc‘s Avastin and could also compete with Merck KGaA‘s Erbitux. (Reuters)
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For over 30 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
