Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc fka ARIA

[DonShimoda]

It's not just that AP113 has shown increased potency at lower levels which may give it a better safety profile but more importantly that AP113 has shown to be effective against many of the ALK mutations that Pfizer's crizotinib has not. This should allow ariad to use the same fast-track regulatory pathway for AP113 that its been taking for AP534 - namely let Pfizers drug get approved in a first-line setting (and spend the $'s needed to commercialize the initial market) and then get AP113 initially approved in a second-line setting (at 6 months, 28% of pts progressed on crizotinib). Once Pfizer has created the initial market for their ALK inhibitor and AP113 gets approved in a second line setting, Ariad (and their partner) could then run the much more expensive head to head trials needed to move to a first line setting.