Kash, Thanks for the update. Lehman Brothers is very good at putting up quick responses to news and I should have looked for it but did not (the Lehman site for Biotech news is linked to the analyst section of home.att.net ).
The part of the report that is news to me is the Phase II combination trial. For Panretin, two government studies began at Phase I when used in combination with Tamoxifen. Maybe LGND can use that data in support of a Phase II start or maybe they just have enough data now since Targretin has been in cancer patients for about 3 years and diabetes patients for almost 1 year (or the advanced cancer is serious enough and the supporting data is strong enough to move right into Phase II for combos also).
After reading the "Beyond Tamoxifen" paper, it was clear that LGND wanted to move aggressively into combos between Targretin and Tamoxifen (as well as other anti-estrogens such as Raloxifene, aka Evista). I thought that the Raloxifene/Targretin combo was more in the research arena, but now I'm suspecting that they may be thinking of a trial sooner than I expected.
When Bernie gave me his update from H&Q, he said that LGND would be moving aggressively into breast cancer, and now I see why. The paper cited the additive effects seen when combining Targretin with Tamoxifen (as well as the protective effects of Targretin when Tamoxifen was used) to treat tumors and also noted potential benefits of using lower doses of Tamoxifen - at the higher doses, resistance develops and long term studies have failed to show benefits associated with use beyond 5 years.
I suspect that PFE and AHP would also be interested in combo studies when their anti-estrogens (Droloxifene, CP-366,156, and TSE424) are approved. Looks like LGND will be jumping into breast cancer treatment (and prevention?) big time, and I suspect that word will travel very fast (PR firms keep popping up at the web site and I suspect that advocacy groups could really light some fires - I know that analysts were watching CNBC and the news made an impression).
At this time, a popular press article could do wonders. |
