Pharma Blog Watch

New Zolinza Indication (DrugWonks)
In his entry, Robert Goldberg discusses the FDA's approval of Merck's Zolinza for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. "While some early trial results seem promising, Zolinza's effect on the larger cancer question remains to be seen," he notes, citing an official from the American Cancer Society.

"I can't wait for the next spate of articles from those reporters and pundits who I have named the Circle of Cancer Cynics. Their motto: if the drug doesn't increase survival by more than a month or so ... who needs it?" he writes. "Using this new litmus test, Zolinza should be scrapped in favor of surgery, painful radiation and chemotherapy or just plain dying and stop wasting all the money that could be spent on universal healthcare for all."

Merck's Failed Obesity Drug (Pharma's Cutting Edge)
In his blog, Fred Cohen discusses the failure in clinical trials of Merck's NPY antagonist MK-0557, being developed as a treatment for obesity. The study was published in Cell Metabolism. "The usual spin on this MK-0557 story is that this failure marks another in a long line of clinical failures for anti-obesity medications," he writes. "Yeah, we know. So, what else is new?"

"Maybe there's something important to be said about pharma's recent record of publishing investigational drug studies in the peer-reviewed literature? Now that online clinical-trial data registries are all the rage, are more or less premarket clinical studies being published in peer-reviewed journals? That's an interesting angle, and NPY should make a great test case."