Aug. 2 Clinical Quick Takes: AB Sciences halts metastatic melanoma program; plus NIH, Adaptimmune and more

AB Sciences drops masitinib for melanoma
AB Science S.A. (Euronext:AB) halted development of masitinib for metastatic melanoma despite reporting that the product led to a 33.3% overall response rate (ORR), the primary endpoint in the Phase III AB08026 trial in the indication, vs. a hypothesized 15% ORR for dacarbazine in historical controls (p=0.0049). The company said it would focus development of the c-Kit inhibitor on pancreatic and prostate cancers, for which Phase III readouts are expected in 2020.

NIH's RSV vaccine boosts viral neutralization in Phase I
NIH reported in a Science paper interim Phase I data showing that sera from 40 healthy volunteers exhibited an up to 15-fold boost in respiratory syncytial virus neutralization, the trial's primary endpoint, after immunization. The vaccine, DS-Cav1, delivers an RSV F protein subunit mutated to preserve display of epitopes associated with neutralizing antibodies...