Biotech SF: Millennium

Monday, September 26, 2011

Millennium begins early-stage trial of Sunesis cancer drug

Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. started a Phase I safety trial of a solid tumor-fighting drug with South San Francisco’s Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Although it has a limited number of patients, the trial is a big deal for Sunesis (NASDAQ: SNSS) because the agreement with Cambridge, Mass.-based Millennium includes milestone payments. Sunesis did not say if dosing of the first patient in the Phase I trial triggered a milestone, but CEO Daniel Swisher said the company is pleased to see that the project moved quickly into Phase I.

Some of my favorite stories.

• "The fight of his life" (2007)

Last year Mike Homer helped raise the money for 2,000 medical research computers. Now researchers are using that equipment in an attempt to save his life.

• "For reporter, CJD is more than a story" (2007)

Seven years ago -- nearly to the day -- my mother died of Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease.

• "A son's YouTube plea for Avastin" (2010)

Josh Turnage is your typical teenager, trying to discover what he wants to do in college and with his life. But a 7-minute, 41-second YouTube video he produced about his mother's fight with breast cancer may thrust him into a debate between drug makers and the agency that regulates them.

• "New device could knock out old dialysis technology" (2011)

Shuvo Roy has all the makings for the world's first implantable artificial kidney, thanks to nanotechnology and a web of nationwide collaborations.

All he needs now is $20 million.

Biotech SF

Monday, September 26, 2011

Millennium begins early-stage trial of Sunesis cancer drug

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Sunesis Pharma lands $4M in Millennium Pharma deal