Better breast cancer drug in sight for Genentech

Researchers reported last week on a study of 137 patients who were randomly assigned to receive the original trastuzumab (Herceptin) along with chemotherapy, or a new souped-up antibody drug called T-DM1 from Genentech, of South San Francisco, Calif., and Waltham’s ImmunoGen Inc. The study, among women getting their first round of therapy, showed 48 percent had tumor shrinkage with the new drug; 41 percent did as well on standard treatment. Only 37 percent of women on the new drug had clinically relevant adverse events, compared with 75 percent on standard therapy.

This is still just a mid-stage clinical trial, and researchers don’t know if the new drug is better at keeping tumors from spreading, which is the main goal.

But it is another intriguing step forward for T-DM1, which could become one of the first drugs to successfully combine the precise targeting capability of an antibody with a super-potent toxin to kill tumor cells.

Genentech is betting the new drug will improve upon the original, which generates more than $5 billion in annual sales.

“We are encouraged by the results,’’ Edith Perez, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic and the lead investigator of the trial, said in a statement. “The study demonstrated that T-DM1 has very good antitumor activity as well as much lower toxicity.’’

Genentech had hoped to win FDA approval of T-DM1 based on a separate study that showed promising tumor shrinkage in much sicker patients who were receiving their third round of therapy.

But in August, the FDA said it would not consider that application for a faster-than-usual approval. That study continues.

Genentech is also testing its new drug on more than 1,000 patients receiving their initial round of treatment.

LUKE TIMMERMAN

ModeRNA Therapeutics, a start-up out of Cambridge-based Flagship VentureLabs, has developed a method to produce human induced pluripotent stem cells, which are embryonic-like stem cells that are formed by reprogramming adult stem cells.

Flagship and three scientists cofounded the start-up this summer.

The research team behind ModeRNA, based at Children’s Hospital Boston and led by Derrick Rossi, said the stem cells formed with the new method could be used to create an array of cells useful in medicine, such as blood cells, neurons, and muscle cells.

Rossi, who is also connected to the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, started ModeRNA with Kenneth Chien, who leads the Massachusetts General Hospital Cardiovascular Research Center, and MIT biochemist Robert Langer, according to VentureWire.

The start-up is backed by Flagship and an undisclosed investor, said Doug Cole, Flagship’s general partner.

ModeRNA developed synthetic, chemically modified RNA that can incite cells to reprogram, while avoiding detection by cells’ antiviral defense systems, which typically target messenger RNA (mRNA) involved in reprogramming cells to function like embryonic stem cells, according to its announcement. The researchers published their study online recently in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

The company isn’t saying much about its plans for commercializing its modified RNA technology. But, Cole said, “It’s generated a lot of excitement in the marketplace.’’

ERIN KUTZ

BirdDog Solutions in Andover, a maker of transportation management software, has raised $2.1 million in an equity-based financing round that could ultimately total $2.4 million, according to documents filed with regulators.

Echo Nest, a Somerville start-up that provides a music-data service for independent app developers, has raised $7 million in a Series B funding round. A new investor, Matrix Partners, led the deal, which included participation by a return backer, Commonwealth Capital Ventures.

This report was compiled by the editors of Xconomy, an online news website focused on the business of technology and innovation. For more New England coverage, visit www.Xconomy.com/boston.