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Biotech / Medical : Pharmacyclics (PCYC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: scaram(o)uche who wrote (489)	8/24/1999 1:32:00 AM
From: Gordon James	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 717

Bloomberg ran the following PCYC nugget this past Saturday - seems PCYC will report results of the 50-patient PhaseI ANTRIN study at the upcoming European Society of Cardiology powwow, to be held in Barcelona, Spain beginning this coming Saturday Aug. 28 (runs Aug. 28 through Sept. 1). Perhaps some of the recent PCYC strength (which has surprised me somewhat due to the imminent secondary) is attributable to anticipation of these results... quote.bloomberg.com J&J, Pharmacyclics to Show Cardiac Research at European Meeting Barcelona, Spain, Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) Barcelona, Spain, Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Johnson & Johnson, which pioneered the use of devices to prop open clogged arteries, will show one of the world's largest gatherings of heart specialists the latest studies on how the gadgets perform over the long haul. The heart doctors, meeting in Barcelona, Spain, Aug. 28 through Sept. 1, will see what may be the longest study yet on the use of stents, tiny mesh tubes used to keep arteries open after they've been cleared of fatty deposits in a procedure called angioplasty. The European Society of Cardiology conference will also provide an early look at an experimental drug from Pharmacyclics Inc. that could one day supplement angioplasty or perhaps even replace it, in some cases. Pharmacyclics, which has yet to bring a product to market, will present results of a 50-patient study of its drug Antrin, designed to melt fatty plaque buildup from artery walls in days or weeks. ``It's an interesting technique, but it's still very early research,' said Viren Mehta, an analyst with Mehta Partners. ``We're looking forward to hearing about the data from this conference.' More than a million angioplasties are performed each year. The procedure has developed over the last two decades, sparing many patients from coronary bypass surgery. In bypass surgery, surgeons graft a new blood vessel to circumvent a blocked vein or artery in the heart. To do this, they must stop the patient's heart and circulate his or her blood through a machine. Although angioplasty is far less invasive, the process of pushing back plaque deposits can cause small injuries to arteries. That may trigger processes that cause new build-ups. Early research indicates Pharmacyclics' Antrin might provide a way to open arteries without the risk of damaging tissue. Antrin attaches to a protein found in abundance only in arterial plaque. Patients are injected with Antrin and about a day later, doctors thread a special tube with a light into arteries to activate the drug. Antrin then breaks apart the buildup in arteries. Profitable Market Heart treatments are one of the most profitable markets for makers of drugs and medical devices. Cardiac disease is linked to more than 30 percent of all deaths worldwide. That is expected to grow as better medical treatment reduces the number of deaths from other causes, like infection, and more people live longer. <snip> Looks like this should be a report of the complete PhaseI results - the article seems to indicate that this is the case, and back around April 27th when PCYC announced that the 50-patient enrollment was complete, we were promised full results "later this summer". Since the interim results reported back in March were for "part1" of the study, which had to do with dose-escalation for the drug, the "new news" here should be the results of "part2", which would be results from tweaking the light dose. Anyone wanting a refresher on the last reported status of this study might want to look at the April 27th PCYC press release: prnewswire.com GJ