Shinogi announce phase 2 data on anorectic agent S-2367...Clinical data on Sutent (Sunitinib) as a treatment of renal cell carcinoma

Todays Headlines from across the DailyUpdates network (11th July)

• Breaking News (from DailyUpdates-Metabolic Disorders): Shinogi announce phase 2 data on anorectic agent S-2367: The prevalence of obesity has increased by 61% in the US during the period 1991-2001. According to Datamonitor 127m people suffered from the disease in the seven major markets in 2003. Obesity is an active area of research and development and our recent feature from Datamonitor (Obesity - commercial opportunites and therapeutic pipeline analysis) discusses 22 key compounds in Phase I development or above. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) a potent orexigenic agent that acts through five different receptor subtypes represents a therapeutic target for anorectic agents. The predominant NPY orexigenic receptors are NPY-Y1 and NPY-Y5, while activation of the presynaptic Y2 receptor limits the release of NPY thus reducing food intake. One peptide from the NPY family, Peptide YY (PYY) has received considerable attention as it an endogenous Y2 receptor agonist in the arcuate nucleus which acts to reduce appetite. Thus Nastech Pharmaceuticals and Amylin are both developing formulations of PYY 3-36 which are currently in phase 2 and phase 1 development respectively. In addition 7TM Pharma have recently announced positive results from its phase I/II study of TM30338, a dual Y2-Y4 receptor agonist. Today’s featured press release from Shionogi & Co announces top-line efficacy results from a Phase IIa proof-of-concept trial with S-2367 which, uniquely, blocks NPY binding to Y5 receptors [Source:Shionogi]

Featured Journal Article (from DailyUpdates-Oncology): Clinical data on Sutent (Sunitinib) as a treatment of renal cell carcinoma: A meager 20% of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tumors respond to standard cytokine therapy, thus rendering 80% of advanced RCC patients without any effective treatment. Further, with up to 50% of stage one to three patients relapsing following nephrectomy and an increasing incidence of this disease, RCC represents a largely unmet disease. Nexavar (Bayer; approved in the US in 2005) and Sutent (Sunitinib; Pfizer; approved in the US in 2006), both indicated for metastatic RCC, look set to compete well to the end of the decade. With Nexavar's first to market advantage and Sutent's purported superior efficacy, revenue margins will lie extremely close. Datamonitor forecasts Nexavar's 2010 revenues will reach $122 million and Sutent's $179 million (Renal Cell Carcinoma - Novel Targeted Treatments). Today’s featured paper report data from an open-label, single-arm, multicenter clinical trial of Sutent monotherapy in patients with RCC [JAMA. 2006 Jun 7;295(21):2516-24]