Cancer is a deadly killer that has been affecting families globally for far too long. Despite billions of dollars placed into research, there has not been a great amount of success in helping victim’s survive the tragic battle. One company in Maryland has developed a vaccine to stimulate a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer. That company is Northwest Biotherapeutics; their vaccine is the DCVaxA-Brain.

The DCVaxA-Brain is a groundbreaking vaccine because it is made up of the patient’s own “dendritic cells”, master cells that direct the immune system. The “dendritic cells” have been activated and educated to mobilize the whole immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells bearing the biomarkers of the patients own tumor.

Today, Northwest Biotherapeutics announced further long-term data for the period from January through September of 2009 from its prior Phase I and Phase I/II clinical trials conducted at UCLA with

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// < ![CDATA[ yahooBuzzArticleHeadline=ImmunoCellular+Therapeutics+Delivers+on+Key+Milestones+%28OTC%3AIMUC%29; // ]]> ImmunoCellular just announced their lead monoclonal antibody product candidates ICT-109 had positive result in their lead study of detecting cancerous tissues. The results were statically significant suggesting that this antibody can determine if tissues are cancerous or non-cancerous in plasma and serum study sets. These results from the study lead IMUC to believe that this ICT-109 molecule can play an important role in early cancer detection which is absolutely critical in for a most efficient treatment. This will be the second milestone of four that Dr Singh, Ph.D., president and CEO of IMUC, has delivered on time. Singh says IMUC will conduct additional studies testing ICT-109 with other markers to design a robust assay that hopefully will become wildly adopted or the standard in early cancer detection. They will be seeking a partner that specialized in commercial development this type of approach/diagnostic tool. The next milestone that Dr. Singh is scheduled to deliver on is the ...

On June 29, Sangamo BioSciences Inc. (SGMO) said it will receive a milestone payment from Genentech Inc., now wholly owned by Swiss drugmaker Roche, for a key research milestone achieved under the Research and License Agreement. However, the amount of the milestone payment was not disclosed.

As a reminder, Sangamo and Genentech entered into a Research and License Agreement in late April 2007 and expanded the agreement in February 2008. Under the deal, Sangamo will provide Genentech access to its proprietary zinc finger DNA-binding protein (ZFP) technology and will design and engineer ZFP nucleus (ZFN(TM)) for Genentech to evaluate and potentially use for generation of cell lines with novel characteristics for protein pharmaceutical production purposes.

We feel that the ZFP technology provides a platform for diverse drug research and development at the DNA level. ZFP technology is unique and differentiated from other technologies. ZFP can target any

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Below is a summary of updates to the BioMedReports.com database of over 200 entries included in the FDA and Clinical Trial Calendars. The FDA Calendar includes companies with pending new drug, biological agent, or medical device new product decisions at the FDA sorted by their PDUFA decision deadline dates while the Clinical Trial Calendar encompasses pending clinical trial results (with a focus on late-stage, Phase 3 trials), pending new submissions to the FDA (e.g. NDA, BLA, 510k, PMA, sNDA, sBLA filings), and pending re-submissions to the FDA for complete response rulings by the agency which require more information before an approval can be granted.

Allos Therapeutics [ALTH: 7.19, -0.13 (-1.78%)]: On 5/30/09 , ALTH updated data from the Company’s pivotal Phase 2 PROPEL study of pralatrexate in patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). The overall response rate for pralatrexate as evaluated by central independent

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Below is a summary of updates to the BioMedReports.com database of over 200 entries included in the FDA and Clinical Trial Calendars. The FDA Calendar includes companies with pending new drug, biological agent, or medical device new product decisions at the FDA sorted by their PDUFA decision deadline dates while the Clinical Trial Calendar encompasses pending clinical trial results (with a focus on late-stage, Phase 3 trials), pending new submissions to the FDA (e.g. NDA, BLA, 510k, PMA, sNDA, sBLA filings), and pending re-submissions to the FDA for complete response rulings by the agency which require more information before an approval can be granted.

On 5/28/09, Incyte Corp. [INCY: 3.64, +0.06 (+1.68%)] announced that based on recent input from the FDA regarding the Company’s request for a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) for INCB18424 for patients with primary myelofibrosis (PMF), post-polycythemia vera myelofibrosis (PPV-MF) and post-essential thrombocythemia myelofibrosis

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* Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN) reported first quarter earnings of 25 cents a share, a 17 cent miss, as revenues declined 34.2% year-over-year to $437 million

* Agrium (NYSE:AGU) reported first-quarter earnings of 4 cents a share, a 20 cent miss, as revenues jumped 58.4% year-over year to $1.75 billion.  The Company said it expects second quarter earnings of $2.00 to $2.40 a share, versus consensus estimates of $2.77

* Foster Wheeler (NASDAQ:FWLT) reported first quarter earnings of 59 cent a share, a 9 cent miss, as revenues declined 29.6% year-over-year to $1.3 billion

* Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) reported earnings of 48 cents a share, beating Street estimates by 20 cents, as revenues plunged 31.8% year-over-year to $2.0 billion

* Genentech (NYSE:DNA) received accelerated FDA approval of its Avastin drug for the treatment of brain cancer patients

Zacks Investment Research

Antigenics, Inc.

(Public, NASDAQ:AGEN) is a buy

About: Antigenics Inc. (Antigenics), is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing technologies to treat cancers and infectious diseases, primarily based on immunological approaches.

News Headlines:

Antigenics, Inc. Gets FDA Approval For Orphan Drug Designation To Oncophage For Treatment Of Glioma

Antigenics, Inc. announced that Oncophage (vitespen) has been granted orphan drug status for the treatment of glioma (brain cancer) by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA Grants Orphan Drug Designation to Oncophage for the Treatment of Glioma “Glioma is such an aggressive and challenging cancer that when patients are diagnosed with recurrence of this life threatening disease, they rarely live beyond six months,” said Andrew T. Parsa, MD, PhD, associate

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Lixte Biotechnology [[LIXT.OB]] was founded as a diagnostics company in 2005 evaluating biomarkers (indicators of disease at the molecular level), but has shifted its focus to become a cancer drug discovery operation.

Lixte engages in the discovery of anti-cancer compounds to improve the treatment of malignancies with few effective treatment options, such as certain types of brain cancer. Other areas of early-stage, preclinical drug discovery include: (1) improved anti-fungal treatments for patients with compromised immunity (e.g. HIV/AIDS, bone marrow transplantation); (2) neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease; and (3) biomarker assays for diagnostic and prognostic applications in the detection of disease and monitoring of treatment effectiveness.

Since Lixte is a development-stage company which does not generate any revenue, the ability to obtain financing to fund research and drug discovery operations will be a key factor this year. The Company estimates minimum funding requirements of $750,000 for this year, which will

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Highlighted companies include Genentech, inc. (DNA), Amgen, Inc. (AMGN) and Wyeth (WYE).Waxman's Bill Bad for Biotech Companies (and Doctors, Patients and America)California Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has proposed legislation, along with his colleagues, that would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to approve generic (bioequivalent) versions of biotech drugs. As of now, there exists no path to approval for so called follow-on biologics as there is with small-molecule pharmaceutical products.According to the Wall Street Journal, the main contention on the bill remains how many years of market exclusivity a product would receive after approval. Mr. Waxman is calling for 5 years, whereas the biotech companies and trade organizations are asking for 14 years.This is a serious issue for investors in biotechnology stocks, in our view. Allowing ...

A trio of diabetes drug candidates are affected by a tougher stance at the FDA for this class of drugs, which is focused on cardiovascular risks such as heart attack and stroke. Two of the drugs will be reviewed at early April FDA advisory panel meeting while a third will likely require additional clinical trials. FDA and Clinical Trial Calendar In December the FDA issued a new guidance document that recommended more stringent clinical trials for diabetes drugs to better assess heart attack and stroke risks. In a change that was effective immediately, the agency said studies should "demonstrate that new antidiabetic therapies do not increase cardiovascular risk in comparison with existing therapies." The agency is calling for extended diabetes clinical studies to include older and sicker patients at higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke and a longer ...