Oncothyreon, the Seattle-based developer of cancer drugs, said today that its partner, Germany-based Merck KGaA, has started a pivotal clinical trial of the Stimuvax immunotherapy for breast cancer. The study will seek to enroll 900 patients in 30 countries, who are randomly assigned to get Stimuvax or a placebo. Oncothyreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ONTY]]) has shifted most of the responsibility for Stimuvax to Merck KGaA, although it still stands to receive a “double digit” percentage royalty on future sales if this ever becomes a marketed product. Stimuvax is also being tested in a pivotal trial for lung cancer.
Author: Luke Timmerman
Luke is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences. He has served as national biotechnology editor for Xconomy and national biotechnology reporter for Bloomberg News. Luke got started covering life sciences at The Seattle Times, where he was the lead reporter on an investigation of doctors who leaked confidential information about clinical trials to investors. The story won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award and several other national prizes. Luke holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and during the 2005-2006 academic year, he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.
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