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Celldex discontinues late-stage study of brain cancer vaccine

Celldex Therapeutics Inc said it would discontinue a late-stage study of its brain cancer vaccine after an independent interim analysis suggested the therapy might not show a statistically significant benefit in patient survival compared with standard chemotherapy. Celldex shares more than halved to $3.76 in premarket trading on Monday. The vaccine, Rintega, belongs to an emerging class of drugs that spur the immune system to recognize and attack cancer.

Safety switches may redeem potent CAR T cancer therapies

By Ransdell Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) – New therapies that clinical data show can eliminate blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma in 40 percent to 90 percent of patients may have to be genetically modified to include a switch that shields healthy cells from attack. The therapies could generate tens of billions of dollars in annual sales for drugmakers including Kite Pharma and Juno Therapeutics Inc, once they are approved. The therapies involve using what are known as CAR T cells, which are white blood cells taken from the body and genetically modified to have the cancer-spotting traits of antibodies. Doctors say the reason is that the modified T cells cause inflammation because they kill so many cancer cells so quickly.