Phase II Data on Teva Candidate - Analyst Blog

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) and CureTech recently presented preliminary top-line results on their oncology candidate, CT-011. Results from a phase II study showed that CT-011 met the primary endpoint of improved progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) following autologous stem cell transplantation.

CT-011 also achieved statistical significance in the secondary endpoint of overall survival. Results showed that about 70% of patients treated with CT-011 achieved progression-free survival compared to 47% of patients in the historical control. Besides this, about 84% of patients treated with CT-011 achieved overall survival compared to 62% in the historical control.

Full results from the phase II study, which was conducted with 72 patients across the US, Asia, South America, and Israel, will be available in the third quarter of 2011. CT-011 is expected to move into phase III studies later this year. DLBCL, an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), is estimated to affect about 40% of all NHL patients.

Teva currently holds 33% of CureTech and has the option to invest further in the company. Teva has been pretty active on the acquisition front in the past few quarters. So far in 2011, the company has struck several deals, including the upcoming acquisition of biopharma company, Cephalon, Inc. (CEPH).

The Cephalon deal, which is scheduled to close in the third quarter of 2011, will not only strengthen Teva’s pipeline, it should also help the company achieve its goal of increasing its branded revenues from $4.6 billion in 2010 to more than $9 billion in 2015.

We currently have a Neutral recommendation on Teva, which carries a Zacks #3 Rank (short-term Hold rating).

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