Calistoga Pharmaceuticals, the Seattle-based developer of cancer drugs, said today it has started a mid-stage clinical trial of its lead drug candidate for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma. The trial is expected to enroll 65 patients who will get a twice-daily dose of Calistoga’s CAL-101 oral pill in combination with eight weekly infusions of Roche and Biogen Idec’s rituximab (Rituxan). Patients won’t get standard chemotherapy, and they will stay on CAL-101 as long as they continue to benefit. Calistoga raised $40 million in venture capital in June after it revealed promising results from its first clinical trial of CAL-101 at a medical meeting.
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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