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ARTICLE | Clinical News

Aug. 29 Clinical Quick Takes: Immunicum's off-the-shelf cell therapy misses in Phase II for kidney cancer; plus Acurx and Esperion

August 29, 2019 11:40 PM UTC

Immunicum's cell therapy misses survival endpoint in Phase II RCC trial
Immunicum AB (SSE:IMMU) lost SEK1.46 (14%) to SEK8.86 after reporting that ilixadencel plus Sutent sunitinib from Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) did not improve 18-month survival, a co-primary endpoint, vs. Sutent alone in the Phase II MERECA trial for metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The second primary endpoint of median overall survival has not yet been reached. Immunicum noted that the allogeneic dendritic cell therapy in combination with Sutent led to complete tumor responses in 11% of patients vs. 4% for Sutent alone.

Acurx's C. diff therapy well tolerated, spares microbiome in Phase I
Acurx Pharmaceuticals LLC (White Plains, N.Y.) said its C. difficile antibiotic, ACX-362E, was well tolerated in healthy volunteers in a Phase I trial and had "minimal impact" on the fecal abundance of commensal Bacteroides, a large component of the microbiome, whereas vancomycin led to a 3-4 log decrease in Bacteroides numbers. The company will present detailed trial data for the first-in-class antibiotic, a bacterial DNA polymerase III PolC-type inhibitor, at the International C. difficile Conference in St. Louis in November...