Cytel Blog

Our Industry Voices series showcases our clients’ innovative work and breakthrough therapeutics in oncologic indications and other critical areas of medical unmet need.

In this article, we sit down with Charles Theuer, M.D., CEO of TRACON Pharmaceuticals to discuss
his work, his views on the key advancements in oncology development, the unmet needs yet to be overcome, and the importance of efficient trial design in rare cancers. Click here to download a .pdf of the article, or read on. 

Our Industry Voices series showcases our clients’ innovative work and breakthrough therapeutics in oncologic indications and other critical areas of medical unmet need.

In this article, we are delighted to share an interview with Kurt Gunter, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Cell Medica in which he discusses his work, his views on the key advancements in oncology development, the unmet needs yet to be overcome, and the importance of strategic biostatistics input to his organization. Read on, or click here to download a copy of the article to read offline.

As we prepare to head to ASCO in under a month's time, we are pleased to share a new ebook that showcases some key applications of innovative trial designs in the oncology development space.

Last month was the eighth American Conference on Pharmacometrics (ACoP8) in Florida, a key event on the calendar for Cytel’s Quantitative Pharmacology and Pharmacometrics subject matter experts.

Cytel was delighted to contribute to the event this year and present two posters. This was excellent opportunity to share our knowledge and innovative research, alongside networking with likeminded industry professionals.  

As a  biometrics -focused CRO, Cytel regularly works across a program of studies, providing data consistency, and helping to minimize the oversight burden for the sponsor. In this case study, we describe our work with a client on two Phase 1 studies, and how we were able to carry a number of important efficiencies from the first study to the second.  

Sadly, clinical development of anti-cancer therapeutics faces particularly high rates of failure, even in the context of low success in drug development as a whole. Operating costs for oncology trials are also higher than those observed across the spectrum of clinical development.  In a recent article produced for the Pink Sheet ( a leading provider of  insights and analysis for biopharma leaders)  Cytel's Yannis Jemiai explored the key challenges facing oncology development today, and discussed how adaptive designs can help to improve researchers' probability of success. The article tackles the application of adaptive designs in both exploratory and confirmatory development and the potential benefits to stakeholders, including patients. 

 At ASCO 2017, Cytel trial design experts joined our medical and academic colleagues to share the most recent innovations in cancer research.
In this blog we will share the abstract and pdf of the poster presentation: TAPPAS: Adaptive enrichment phase 3 trial of TRC105 and pazopanib versus pazopanib alone in patients with advanced angiosarcoma (AAS), co-authored by Cytel's Cyrus Mehta and Lingyun Liu with TRACON Pharmaceuticals.  

 In this blog, Adam Hamm, PhD, Director Biostatistics at Cytel shares some of the most important knowledge he uses in  his day to day work as a biostatistician working extensively in oncology research. Adam has broad experience with statistical analysis and methodology over all phases (I-IV) of development, in particular working in the oncology arena. 

 As a Director of Biostatistics at Cytel, I work on design, statistical analysis and reporting projects for a range of biotechnology and pharmaceutical sponsors. During my career, I’ve developed a particular focus on oncology trials, so in this blog I’ll share some insights into the  knowledge which I have found particularly vital  as a biostatistician working in this area. This knowledge spans specific statistical methodologies and understanding of the clinical issues across the phases of clinical development. The summary is not exhaustive, but provides a glimpse into the broad exposure which is needed for a biostatistician to develop a fully rounded understanding in the area. To learn more, read on...

Single ascending dose (SAD) and multiple ascending dose (MAD) studies are typically the first in human studies.  They seek to gain information on safety and tolerability, general pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic ( PD)  characteristics, and of course identify the maximum tolerated dose (MTD).

Conventionally, SAD  and MAD studies were conducted separately, but increasingly are combined into an ‘umbrella’ protocol which addresses both SAD and MAD objectives.