Genentech gives pipeline update

Along with its earnings, Genentech (NYSE:DNA) provided a pipeline update, announcing the start of a handful of Avastin trials and the discontinuation of a compound for diabetic foot ulcers. Genentech said it ended development of telbermin topical VEGF for diabetic foot ulcers following negative results from a Phase II study. The company also ended a 2006 deal with Inotek (Beverly, Mass.) to develop Inotek's INO-1001. The poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor was in Phase Ib testing for malignant melanoma.

Genentech completed enrollment of 1,050 patients in the Phase III CALGB 90401 trial of Avastin for first-line hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). The company also said the drug entered three additional Phase III trials: ECOG 5103 and BEATRICE for adjuvant HER2-negative breast cancer and GOG-213 for relapsed platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. Genentech discontinued the Phase II SABRE-R trial of Avastin plus Sutent sunitinib for first-line metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) markets Sutent. ...