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UPDATE 1-Affymax to stop trial for chemotherapy-induced anemia

Thu Aug 28, 2008 5:32pm EDT

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Aug 28 (Reuters) - Affymax Inc (AFFY.O) said it would stop developing its anemia drug to treat chemotherapy-induced anemia citing uncertain regulatory landscapes, but would continue developing the drug for chronic kidney disease-related anemia. The biotechnology company, which co-develops the drug Hematide with Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (4502.T), said Takeda was conducting early-stage studies of the drug to treat chemotherapy-induced anemia in the United States and Japan.

However, the companies would continue to test Hematide for the treatment of anemia related to chronic renal failure, they said in a joint statement.

Hematide, a synthetic drug that would compete with biologic anemia medicines that have faced restrictions over safety and potential overuse concerns, is administered just once a month.

That could be a major advantage over current standard treatments from Amgen Inc (AMGN.O) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), which are given with dialysis about three times a week.

Shares of Affymax were down 1 percent in trading after the bell. They had closed at $17.57 Thursday on Nasdaq. Takeda shares closed down nearly 2 percent at 5,640 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Esha Dey in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)



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