Advanced Magnetics iron therapy promising in trial

Advanced Magnetics Inc. said today that a late-stage trial of its experimental, intravenous iron replacement therapy provided a significant benefit to patients with chronic kidney disease.

The Cambridge-based company said data from a Phase III, 304-patient trial showed that patients with chronic kidney disease who were not dependent on dialysis and who took the treatment -- ferumoxytol -- had a significantly greater increase in hemoglobin than patients who took oral iron.

Data from the trial, part of a broader late-stage clinical development package, are being presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology's Renal Week in San Diego. (Reuters)