In brief: Genmab; Savient; Roche; GSK; Merck

Denmark's Genmab has announced its treatment against cancer of the lymphatic system, HuMax-CD20, had shown positive results in Phase I/II studies.

The company said 55 per cent of trial patients in the study had achieved a clinical response, with a 27 per cent complete response rate for treatment of relapsed refractory follicular Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL).

FDA approves Savient osteoarthritis treatment

US regulators have approved Savient Pharmaceuticals' treatment for pain in the knee of osteoarthritis patients who have failed to respond to conservative non-drug therapy.

More positive data for MabThera

Patients with indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) live longer if treated with cancer drug MabThera (Rituxan in the US) in combination with chemotherapy, Swiss drugmaker Roche has reported to the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in San Diego.

More patients receiving MabThera in combination with chemotherapy survived after two years than those who only received chemotherapy. MabThera is already approved in Europe for first-line treatment of indolent NHL.

GSK, Merck may share cervical cancer vaccine patents

GlaxoSmithKline and Merck & Co are discussing sharing patents related to rival cervical cancer vaccines being developed by the two companies.

Duncan Learmouth, head of investor relations at GSK, Europe's biggest drugmaker, said that the firms were in talks about a cross-licensing deal.