Boosting Rituxan

Despite a clinical failure with IDEC-114 in psoriasis this year, Idec Pharmaceuticals Corp. has not given up on the antibody, which targets the CD80 antigen on B cells. Data presented at the American Society of Hematology meeting in Philadelphia last week suggest the molecule has activity against non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In fact, IDPH hopes to use IDEC-114 in combination with its marketed Rituxan rituximab antibody, which targets CD20, to lengthen the duration of response to Rituxan among refractory NHL patients.

In the ongoing Phase I/II study reported at ASH, three of 16 patients given the high dose of IDEC-114 (375 mg/m2 per week for four weeks) achieved complete responses (followup ranged from one to eight months). Bryan Leigh, director of clinical oncology, noted that the responses occurred three to six months following treatment, whereas responses to Rituxan occur much sooner...