FT : Battling cancer: Focus turns to defence as best form of attack

It has been described as the beginning of the end of cancer. A new wave of drugs that harnesses the body’s immune system to destroy tumours is fuelling optimism that medical science is finally closing in on one of its greatest adversaries.
If that is true – and much is still to prove – it has been a very long beginning.

Medics have been experimenting with so-called immunotherapies for cancer since the 1850s. This was when German doctors noticed that tumours would sometimes shrink if they became infected and spurred an immune response from the patient.
Now, some 160 years and many false starts later, the principle of stimulating the body’s natural defences to fight cancer has finally found its moment.
Drug companies led by Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb of the US are developing a range of treatments that aim to strip away the camouflage that cancer cells use to evade the immune system.
By unleashing the body’s disease-fighting T-cells against tumours, these drugs have shown the potential significantly to extend the lives of some people with advanced melanoma – the most deadly form of skin cancer – with work under way on therapies for several other tumours.
This expanding field of immuno-oncology will dominate discussion at the annual conference of the European Society for Medical Oncology starting in Madrid on Friday. The drugs are part of a broader revolution in our understanding and treatment of cancer, as advances in genomic science open the way to therapies that target the unique molecular and genetic characteristics of an individual’s cancer.
“Cancer treatment in the past has been as much art as science, with a lot of judgments made,” says Mike Standing, a life sciences specialist at Deloitte, the consultancy. “We are now moving towards precision treatments, where we have more meaningful understanding of what is driving a particular form of cancer.”
This progress has resulted in improved prospects for cancer patients – or at least those in rich countries where the latest drugs are available. One in 22 Americans – 14.5m people – are cancer survivors, defined as people who have lived for at least five years after diagnosis. This is triple the percentage seen 40 years ago, according to the American Association for Cancer Research.
Some commentators go so far as to say cancer could be about to experience a transformation similar to the one that has seen HIV downgraded from a death sentence to a manageable chronic disease when treated with antiretrovirals. Yet, just as science starts to catch up with cancer, the scale of the problem grows.
Already, 8.2m people die worldwide from cancer each year, according to the World Health Organisation. In the developed world, the disease accounts for about a quarter of deaths. These figures are expected to rise further in coming decades, as increasing longevity exposes more people to the biggest risk factor involved in cancer: old age.
“By 2020, almost half of Britain’s population will get cancer in their lifetime,” says Mr Standing.
Incidence is increasing in the developing world, in part because of high rates of smoking, which accounts for about a fifth of global cancer deaths. Other lifestyle factors associated with the disease, such as unhealthy diets and lack of exercise, are spreading beyond the west, as countries such as China and India become more industrialised.
All this threatens to increase the worldwide number of cancer cases by 57 per cent in the next 20 years, according to the WHO. This will impose a heavy burden on healthcare systems in developed and developing economies alike.
Global spending on cancer medicines reached $91bn last year, up from $37bn a decade ago, according to IMS Health, an industry research and data provider. By 2017, oncology spending in developed markets will be more than double that on the next most costly therapeutic area, diabetes, according to IMS forecasts.
This reflects the premium price commanded by cancer drugs – particularly in the US, where the average monthly cost of branded oncology medicines has doubled in the past decade to $10,000.
Cancer drug pricing is already a source of controversy in the US and Europe. These tensions will only intensify as incidence of the disease increases at the same time as new medicines keep patients alive longer.
“We are moving into a era where cancer becomes more of a chronic disease and that will require new economic models,” says Hilary Thomas, an oncologist and partner at KPMG.
Drugmakers says high prices are justified by high development costs. Cancer therapies account for more than 30 per cent of early-stage drug trials under way across the industry, but only a fraction of these reach market. Pharmaceutical companies say that, if the recent scientific momentum is to be sustained, they must make enough money on the successes to absorb the cost of the failures.
There is hope, however, that the same scientific advances that are leading to more effective drugs will eventually help bring costs under control. Increased understanding of the biology behind cancer should result in more selective treatments and more efficient clinical trials.
“There is nothing more expensive than a treatment that doesn’t work,” notes Peter Johnson, chief clinician at Cancer Research UK. “So, the key to making these drugs affordable is to make sure they are targeted at people who will benefit.”

The first big breakthroughs in targeted cancer medicine came more than a decade ago with the launch of Roche’s Herceptin for breast cancer and Novartis’ Glivec for leukaemia. Both have gone on to be blockbusters.
Today, targeted therapies account for 46 per cent of the cancer market, according to IMS.
These medicines attack specific proteins critical to cancer progression. This enables doctors to identify in advance the patients most likely to respond, based on expression of the targeted protein in their tumour.
Chris Boshoff, head of early development and translational oncology at Pfizer, says there is much to do.
The so-called checkpoint inhibitor drugs at the forefront of the immuno-oncology wave work by targeting proteins called PD-1 and PD-L1, but there are dozens more similar targets yet to be tested that could prove equally or more effective, he says.
Other approaches are being developed, including some involving the genetic re-engineering of patients’ T-cells to attack cancer. “If you get the target right, you can melt tumours,” says Paul Higham, chief executive of Immatics, a German immuno-oncology company.
“But if you get it wrong and it also goes after normal cells, then there is a huge risk of damaging healthy tissue. So, the key is to find the right targets that are over-expressed in cancer cells and under-represented in healthy cells.”
Some critics say there is too much focus on new drugs at the expense of spending on prevention, diagnostics and palliative care. For all the talk of a revolution in oncology, they say many new cancer drugs still only extend life by a few months not years.
Drugmakers argue that these incremental steps need reward because they will eventually arrive at a cure.
However, in an era of austerity and rising healthcare costs, companies are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that their therapies represent true innovation and value for money.

>>> What to look at today - 26th of Sept. 2014

US Market Closed lower, S&P and Nasdaq have broken their 50d MA, all six cyclical sectors ended in-line or behind the S&P 500 with high-beta areas like biotechnology and chipmakers finishing among the laggards, AAPL Tumbled 3.8%, closing below its 50d MA (1st time since 23/04)....VIX @ 15.64 +17.9% ...volume were above average @720m shares...After hours PRGS +7.8%, NKE +6.7%, DMND +4.0%, MU +3.7%, ATNY +0.1%, POWL -10.0% following earnings/guidance...today Q3 GDP to be released ( consensus 4.6%) & Michigan sent. ( cons.85)...Asian bourses are tracking the outsized selloff in US markets - the largest in nearly 2 months - with disappointing Durable Goods orders weighing on sentiment ahead of tomorrow's US final GDP release...- CPI figures out of Japan were in focus, sliding to multi-month lows on core basis and potentially adding to the case for more BOJ help down the line...the health minister who is the head of pension fund GPIF said it would be better to draft a "good law" than doing something "hasty", but also noted some changes without new legislation may be possible...Conference Board put out China August Leading Economic Index at a 3-month low rate of growth. Resident economist said the "monthly growth slowed markedly in August as real estate activity weakened and consumer expectations fell again." Despite expectations of some targeted stimulus policy response by Beijing, CB noted it does not expect a "sustained pick up in Chinese economy any time soon."...Nikkei -0.87% Hans Seng -0.47% Shanghai -0.26%

Eur$1.2739 S&P +0.11% EuroStoxx +0.19% FTSE +0.04% DAX -0.05% SMI+0.10%

Macro
- Schaeuble Wants German States to Handle Income Tax: Handelsblatt

Keep an eye on :
- ADS GY : NKE +6.7% after hours after good numbers
- AF FP : Air France Strike Could Cost Carrier EU250m: Les Echos
- AIR FP : Airbus in talks for potential sales, JVs of noncore border security, defense electronics units - Reuters
- BNS IM : Beni Stabili to Sell 353.1m Shrs at EU0.424 Apiece
- DOW US : Dow Chemical reaches out to buyers to sell epoxy and chlorine businesses in one package
- EDF FP : Austria May Try to Block EDF’s U.K. Reactor Plan: Times
- ILD FP : Iliad Unlikely to Offer Sufficient Price for T-Mobile: Pac Crest
- JAZ SM : Jazztel funds up stakes in push for higher offer - Expansion
- SBRY LN : U.K.’s Sainsbury’s to Match Asda Prices Only, No Longer Tesco’s
- STL NO : Statoil to Delay Alberta Oil Sands Project at Least 3 Yrs
- FP FP : Total May Sell Stake in Tahiti Field in Gulf of Mexico: Reuters
- TIT IM : Telecom Italia Receives Fintech Proposal for Argentina Delay
- YAR NO : Yara Designated CEO Brandtzaeg Withdraws, Stays at Norsk Hydro
- VOLVB SS : Volvo Says Renault Trucks Will Increase Mkt Share in 2015: DI

>>> Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 26th of Sept. 2014

>>> Up
*AIXTRON RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT VS EQUALWEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY
*ALTAREA COGEDIM RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT SOCGEN
*BALFOUR BEATTY RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT DEUTSCHE BANK
*BRITISH LAND RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT SOCGEN
*EUROCOMMERCIAL PROPERTIES RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT SOCGEN
*FONCIERE LYONNAISE RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT SOCGEN
*GECINA RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT SOCGEN
*GREAT PORTLAND ESTATES RAISED TO HOLD VS SELL AT SOCGEN
*ICADE RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT SOCGEN
*IGD RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT SOCGEN
*IMMOFINANZ RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT SOCGEN
*KERING RAISED TO OUTPERFORM VS NEUTRAL AT CREDIT SUISSE
*KLEPIERRE RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT SOCGEN
*MIGROS RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT VS UNDERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
*PHILIPS RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT VS EQUALWEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY
*TELEFONICA DEUTSCHLAND RAISED TO BUY VS NEUTRAL AT CITI

>>> Down
*AIR FRANCE-KLM CUT TO UNDERPERFORM VS HOLD AT JEFFERIES
*ANADOLU EFES CUT TO UNDERWEIGHT VS EQUALWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
*BANKINTER CUT TO UNDERWEIGHT VS EQUALWEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY
*BIM BIRLESIK CUT TO EQUALWEIGHT VS OVERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
*CAIRN ENERGY CUT TO HOLD VS BUY AT LIBERUM
*HENNES & MAURITZ CUT TO HOLD VS BUY AT SOCGEN
*INTU PROPERTIES CUT TO SELL VS HOLD AT SOCGEN
*ODFJELL DRILLING CUT TO SELL VS NEUTRAL AT GOLDMAN
*SEADRILL CUT TO SELL VS NEUTRAL AT GOLDMAN
*TDC CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT NOMURA
*VALLOUREC RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS UNDERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN

>>> PT Changes
*NYRSTAR PT CUT TO EU2.55 FROM EU3 AT ING

>>> Initiation
*BUWOG INITIATED BUY AT BERENBERG, PT EU17.50
*COMDIRECT RATED NEW BUY AT BANKHAUS LAMPE; PT EU9
*ULKER RATED NEW OVERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS

>>> Call
>> Sector
*UK REAL ESTATE CUT TO UNDERWEIGHT VS BENCHMARK: CREDIT SUISSE
*EUROPEAN UTILITIES RAISED TO BENCHMARK AT CREDIT SUISSE

>>> Airbus in talks for potential sales, JVs of noncore border security, defense

Airbus in talks for potential sales, JVs of noncore border security, defense electronics units 

Airbus [PA:AIR], the French aerospace conglomerate, is sounding out companies that could become partners for noncore defense and security assets, according to a newswire report.

Following the announcement earlier this month that Airbus planned to sell communications, software and sonar operations that have EUR 2bn in revenues, CEO Tom Enders told Reuters that another group of defense electronics and border security assets is not a "core business".

He declined to say whether a disposal or joint venture was preferred, as that would depend on whether interested parties wanted to make a full acquisition or some kind of majority or minority partnership. Airbus has no timeframe for the assets, he added on the sidelines of an event about first flight of the A320neo aircraft.

The aircraft is in line with Airbus' decision following the portfolio review to focus on operations like warplanes and satellites and away from defense electronics and security.

(BFW) Iliad Unlikely to Offer Sufficient Price for T-Mobile: Pac Crest

Iliad Unlikely to Offer Sufficient Price for T-Mobile: Pac Crest
2014-09-26 04:20:36.39 GMT


By Sarah Gill
Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- $40 is lowest price T-Mobile should
consider as co. is gaining shr, improving adj. Ebitda margin:
Pacific Crest analyst Michael Bowen in note.
* Iliad may be unable to raise enough capital
* T-Mobile benefiting from people switching after the iPhone 6
introduction and increased early termination fee
reimbursements
* Rates T-Mobile outperform, PT $40
* NOTE: TMUS 16 buys, 11 holds, 1 sell, avg. PT $36.90:
Bloomberg data
* Related stories:
* Niel’s Iliad Said to Face Hurdles in T-Mobile Bid
* Iliad Sets Mid-Oct. Deadline for T-Mobile Bid: Reuters
* T-Mobile Deal W/ Dish May Be More Compelling Vs Iliad:
Jefferies
* Iliad Said in Talks With Buyout Firms on New T-Mobile US
Bid
* NOTE: In July Iliad Offered $15b in Cash for 56.6% of T-
Mobile at $33/Shr

For Related News and Information:
First Word scrolling panel: FIRST<GO>
First Word newswire: NH BFW<GO>

To contact the reporter on this story:
Sarah Gill in sydney at +61-2-9777-8641 or
sgill23@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jan Dahinten at +65-6212-1164 or
jdahinten@bloomberg.net

>>> US After Hours

After Hours Summary: PRGS +7.8%, NKE +6.7%, DMND +4.0%, MU +3.7%, ATNY +0.1%, POWL -10.0% following earnings/guidance

After Hours Gainers: Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings: PRGS +7.8%, NKE +6.7%, DMND +4.0%, MU +3.7%, ATNY +0.1%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: WTSL +16.7% (appointed Jon Kubo to newly created position of Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer), GALE +6.1% (announced the release of a report prepared by the former Special Committee of Galena's Board of Directors; committee found no evidence that the company was aware that DTG paid bloggers to write favorable articles), SNHY +2.8% (announced special dividend of $1 per share), GM +0.4% (S&P raises co's ratings to the investment grade rating of BBB-)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings: POWL -10.0%

>>> Asian Update

Asian Market Update: Japan core CPI growth slows; Health Minister hints at GPIF changes without details

***Economic Data*** - (JP) JAPAN SEPT TOKYO CPI Y/Y: 2.9% (3-month high) V 2.7%E; CPI EX-FRESH FOOD Y/Y: 2.6% (6-month low) V 2.6%E - (JP) JAPAN AUG NATIONAL CPI Y/Y: 3.3% (5-month low) V 3.3%E; CPI EX-FRESH FOOD Y/Y: 3.1% (5-month low) V 3.2%E - (CN) CHINA AUG CONFERENCE BOARD LEADING INDEX M/M: 0.7% (3-month low) V 1.2% PRIOR - (KR) SOUTH KOREA SEPT CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: 107 V 107 PRIOR - (UK) UK SEPT HOMETRACK HOUSING SURVEY M/M: 0.0% V 0.1% PRIOR; Y/Y: 5.0% V 5.5% PRIOR

***Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)*** - Nikkei225 -1.0%, S&P/ASX -1.1%, Kospi -0.3%, Shanghai Composite -0.1%, Hang Seng -0.6%, Dec S&P500 +0.1% at 1,963

***Commodities/Fixed Income/Currencies*** - Dec gold +0.2% at $1,224/oz, Nov crude oil flat% at $92.55/brl , Dec copper +0.6% at $3.05/lb - (US) Weekly Fed Balance Sheet Total Assets for week ending Sept 25th: $4.46T v $4.45T prior; M1 y/y change: 11.2% v 11.2% w/w; M2 y/y change: 6.6% v 6.6% w/w - (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥100B in 10-25yr JGB, ¥30B in JGB with maturity over 25-yr, ¥20B in inflation-indexed JGB, as wells ¥1T in T-bills - (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$1.5B in 2.75% Bonds due 2019; Avg yield: 3.0542%; Bid-to-cover: 2.9x - (JP) Japan investors bought net ¥773.9B in foreign bonds v sold net ¥401.1B in prior week; Foreign investors bought net ¥294.8B in Japan stocks v bought net ¥136.8B in prior week - USD/CNY: (CN) PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1508 v 6.1497 prior setting (weakest yuan setting since Sept 8th)

***Market Focal Points/Key Themes*** - Asian bourses are tracking the outsized selloff in US markets - the largest in nearly 2 months - with disappointing Durable Goods orders weighing on sentiment ahead of tomorrow's US final GDP release. Nike and Micron posted solid numbers after the market close and traded higher by 7% and 4% afterhours respectively, while S&P500 futures are off the lows with a modest 0.1% rise.

- CPI figures out of Japan were in focus, sliding to multi-month lows on core basis and potentially adding to the case for more BOJ help down the line. Nationwide, food and fuel components saw the largest annual increases of 4.9% and 6.4% respectively. Comments from the Cabinet Office suggested the govt assessment of CPI remains unchanged as "rising mildly". Also out of Japan, the health minister who is the head of pension fund GPIF said it would be better to draft a "good law" than doing something "hasty", but also noted some changes without new legislation may be possible. USD/JPY traded up about 60pips from the lows to as high as 109.10 after the comments despite the few details offered.

- Conference Board put out China August Leading Economic Index at a 3-month low rate of growth. Resident economist said the "monthly growth slowed markedly in August as real estate activity weakened and consumer expectations fell again." Despite expectations of some targeted stimulus policy response by Beijing, CB noted it does not expect a "sustained pick up in Chinese economy any time soon."

***Equities*** US markets: - NKE: Reports Q1 $1.09 v $0.88e, R$7.98B v $7.80Be; Exec: Sees Q2 Rev growth in low double digits, GM to increase 125-150bps; FY EPS growth seen at high 20% rate, GM to increase 125bps; Q2 - conf call; +7.3% afterhours - THO: Reports Q4 $1.25 v $1.19e, R$1.04B v $1.04Be; +4.0% afterhours - MU: Reports Q4 $0.82 (adj) v $0.82e, R$4.23B v $4.17Be; Issues Q1 FY15 DRAM and NAND guidance - conf call slides; Guides Q1 R$4.45-4.7B v $4.48Be - conf call; +3.8% afterhours - POWL: Lowers FY14 EPS to $1.25-1.45 v $2.13e (2 est; prior $2.15-2.40), Rev guidance to $630-640M v $666Me (prior $650-675M); -10.0% afterhours

Notable movers by sector: - Consumer Discretionary: Capcom 9697.JP -2.2% (analyst action); Guangdong Advertising 002400.CN +5.8% (announces cooperation with Baidu) - Materials: Sichuan Tianqi Lithium Resources 002466.CN +1.7% (enters strategic alliance with Tibet Mineral on salt lake lithium) - Industrials: Fanuc 6954.JP +4.0% (raises FY14/15 guidance); Hyundai Motor 005380.KR -1.3%, Kia Motors 000270.KR -1.0% (Hyundai, Kia workers to go on strikes); Chongqing Department Store 600729.CN +0.7% (launches e-commerce site) - Utilities: Beijing Jingneng Clean Energy 579.HK -0.6% (shares issuance)

Alibaba Bears Shorting 8.9 Million Shares After Biggest Ever IPO

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Alibaba Bears Shorting 8.9 Million Shares After Biggest Ever IPO 2014-09-25 19:43:48.835 GMT

By Boris Korby Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- About 2.4% of listed shares being sold short, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and Markit, a London-based provider of financial information. * Alibaba sold 368.1 million shares in IPO * Alibaba surged 38% to $93.89 on Sept. 19 in 1st day of trading after pricing shares at $68. Stock fell to $88.98 at 3.08 p.m. in NY today * Alibaba is trading at about 39 times current-year profit, compared with a multiple of 16 for the S&P 500 * “Out of the gate we see high demand to borrow shares of BABA,” Andrew Laird, a New York-based product specialist at Markit, said in an e-mail. “This is a relatively small amount compared to the total shares outstanding but still significant considering the limited supply that is available to borrow following an IPO.” * NOTE: Shorting Alibaba Costs 7% to Borrow Shares Following Biggest IPO

For Related News and Information: First Word scrolling panel: FIRST<GO> First Word newswire: NH BFW<GO>

To contact the reporter on this story: Boris Korby in New York at +1-212-617-1073 or bkorby1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nikolaj Gammeltoft at +1-212-617-1061 or ngammeltoft@bloomberg.net Marie-France Han

Nike 1Q EPS Cont Ops $1.09 Est. 88c; Shrs Up 5%

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

BFW 09/25 20:15 *NIKE 1Q EPS CONT OPS$1.09 EST. 88C BN 09/25 20:15 *NIKE 1Q EPS CONT OPS$1.09 EST. 88C

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Nike 1Q EPS Cont Ops $1.09 Est. 88c; Shrs Up 5% 2014-09-25 20:16:53.51 GMT

By Brad Skillman Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- NKE worldwide future orders ex- currency up 14%, est. up 10% * 1Q gross margin 46.6% vs est. 45.8%

Link to Company News:{NKE US <Equity> CN <GO>}

For Related News and Information: First Word scrolling panel: {FIRST<GO>} First Word newswire: {NH BFW<GO>}

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brad Skillman at +1-212-617-2763 or bskillman1@bloomberg.net