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Biotech / Medical : Oncothyreon -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Angelo who wrote (932)	7/14/1999 2:46:00 PM
From: Garry K.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2344

Story on a "relative" company that spunoff from Biomira....... Altarex makes progress on cancer By PAUL MARCK The Financial Post EDMONTON - AltaRex Corp. has achieved two significant milestones this week in efforts to commercialize its core product OvaRex, a promising treatment for advanced ovarian cancer. The Edmonton-based biotech company, conducting Phase IIb clinical trials at 50 North American patient sites, has received a favourable safety profile on the drug from the independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board in the U.S. Also, as a result of having neared its target of 280 patients enrolled in the double-blind study four months ahead of schedule, AltaRex has applied to U.S. regulatory authorities to increase the study up to 400 patients. "We see this as a very strong signal for the commercial potential we see with this drug," said Edward Fitzgerald, senior vice-president and chief financial officer. "We're dealing with a disease where there is no really good treatment in the market right now. What we are focused on is . . . to get this drug approved and on the market in the most effective way possible." Late last year, U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted fast-track approval for the Phase IIb clinical trials of OvaRex, scheduled for completion in early 2001. If all indications about OvaRex's efficacy are as positive as early results, the treatment could begin marketing later that year, said Mr. Fitzgerald. The company considers the increased patient enrolment among the most significant signs to date that OvaRex is performing to expectations. Many cancer clinical trials are difficult to fully enrol and as a result, end up cancelled. Traditional treatments for advanced ovarian cancer usually show patient relapse within 18 months. Early trials of AltaRex showed patients surviving well beyond that time frame. AltaRex was founded in 1995 as an offshoot of Biomira Inc., another Edmonton company that produces cancer treatments using different technology. The companies were spun off from University of Alberta research. AltaRex focuses on using the immune system to fight cancer, its core technology being "anti-idiotype induction therapy," which induces the human immune system to mount a defence against tumours. Research is conducted in Edmonton at the university's Noujaim Institute, named after founder Dr. Antoine Noujaim. Corporate and marketing offices moved to Waltham Mass., where AltaRex is also expanding its clinical base.