Pillow Talk? Aveo Execs, Stock Prices And Conflicts Of Interest

Here is a curious chain of events. On May 18, 2012, Ronald DePinho, who co-founded Aveo Pharmaceuticals and was a board member at the time, touted the stock on CNBC. But just 11 days earlier, his wife, Lynda Chin, who is another co-founder, attended a meeting of the Aveo scientific advisory board, where the agenda included discussion of troubles with a clinical trial for a key cancer drug. The trial had compared tivozanib, which was being developed for treating renal cell carcinoma, against Bayer’s Nexavar, but results indicated that patient survival was less with the Aveo drug. That meeting was held prior to a meeting Aveo would have with the FDA, but after the drugmaker received a letter in which the agency outlined concerns with the treatment, according to The Cancer Letter. Both DePinho and Chin denied any impropriety. Chin confirmed attending the advisory board meeting, but declined to comment otherwise to the newsletter. DePinho, who had previously maintained that he was not aware of any shortcomings with the drug at the time he appeared on CNBC, would only tell the newsletter that he was not involved in discussions with the FDA. The agency subsequently rejected tivozanib (see this). Nonetheless, the scenario is only the latest embarrassing and puzzling flap involving the couple, who are highly prominent in the medical community. DePinho is president of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Chin chairs the Department of Genomic Medicine in the Division...
Source: Pharmalot - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs