Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc fka ARIA

[DonShimoda]

Dough, check out slide 32 in the latest Ariad investor presentation. It's only preclinical data but the difference between Aria's ALK inhibitor and Pfizer's is pretty striking. AP113 acts faster at much smaller doses (which may indicate a better safety profile).

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9MzgzODg1fENoaWxkSUQ9Mzg1MjE4fFR5cGU9MQ==&t=1

Pfizer's ALK presentation was one of the plenary sessions at ASCO this year and the results from their phase 1 lung cancer trial is getting a lot of buzz (i can't remember the last time a phase 1 drug got a plenary session).

With AP113, Ariad is now proving out the value of their drug discovery pipeline. Much like AP534 which targets BCR-ABL, AP113 targets the ALK gene which is normally turned off in adults.

FYI, Abbot is now developing a test to detect the ALK gene mutation which will benefit ariad as they move 113 to clinical trial.