This might benefit PolyMedix --
One of the new members of the BOD of Merck worked for PolyMedix for four years. I added shares of PYMX to my portfolio today.
intercell.com
June 08, 2011
Merck and Intercell AG Announce Termination of Phase II/III Clinical Trial of Investigational Staphylococcus aureus Vaccine, V710
WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. and VIENNA, June 8, 2011 – Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and Intercell AG (VSE: ICLL) today announced that following a detailed analysis of the data from the Phase II/III clinical trial evaluating V710, an investigational vaccine for the prevention of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infection, the independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) has unanimously recommended termination of the study.
As previously announced, following a pre-planned meeting in April, the DMC informed Merck that the trial had not met the formal futility criteria. However, the DMC recommended that enrollment in the Phase II/III clinical trial be suspended pending completion by Merck of additional analyses on the benefits and risks of vaccination. Following further review of the statistical analyses by the DMC -- which also considered events that had occurred after the pre-specified data cutoff date utilized for the April meeting - the recommendation to terminate was made based upon both the observation that V710 was unlikely to demonstrate a statistically significant clinical benefit as well as a safety concern regarding overall mortality and multi-organ dysfunction that occurred with greater frequency in vaccine recipients, compared with placebo recipients. In the additional analyses that were performed, this safety difference was not found to be statistically significant and was also determined not to warrant any action beyond routine safety follow-up. Merck plans to present the final detailed findings of the clinical trial at an upcoming medical meeting.
From the Yahoo message board --
messages.finance.yahoo.com
Could Merck be interested in Poly? 25-May-11 02:39 pm
Just googling a bit and saw the proxy for Merck....they had their annual meeting yesterday, 5/24/11. One of the Directors being elected is from U of Penn and worked on Poly's board for 4 years. Check it out....
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William N. Kelley, M.D.Age—71
Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine for more than five years. Director, Beckman Coulter, Inc. since 1994 (laboratory instrument company) and GenVec, Inc. since 2002 (gene therapy company); Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Master, American College of Physicians and American College of Rheumatology; Member, American Philosophical Society and Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences; and Trustee, The Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center of Emory University and Emeritus Trustee, Emory University. Dr. Kelley was also a director of Advanced Bio-Surfaces, Inc. from 2001 to 2008 (a medical device company), Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. (formerly known as Merck & Co., Inc.) from 1992 to November 2009 and PolyMedix, Inc. from 2005 to 2009 (emerging biotechnology company). In deciding to nominate Dr. Kelley, the Board considered his extensive scientific and medical expertise relevant to the pharmaceutical industry including his position as a Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In addition, his position as the former Chief Executive Officer of the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and Health System, Dean of the School of Medicine and Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania from 1989 to 2000, provides Dr. Kelley with extensive managerial experience with direct relevance to scientific research. His directorships at other public companies also provide him with broad experience on governance issues facing public companies. |
