A recently released medical study suggests the active ingredient in Irvine-based Allergan Inc.’s Botox drug might be modestly helpful for people with chronic migraine headaches but doesn’t seem to offer relief for those with less-frequent occurrences of the condition.
The independent study showed patients who started out having migraines almost daily reported two fewer headaches per month when given injections of botulinum toxin A. They also reported having more side effects, including weakened muscles and a stiff neck.
“The effect these appear to be having on migraine headaches is small,” Jeffrey Jackson, a Medical College of Wisconsin professor and the study’s lead researcher, told Reuters. “It only reduces headaches by a couple of days a month.”
It’s possible that some chronic migraine patients would benefit from injections much more than others, Jackson said.
Botox is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating chronic migraines but not for the less-frequent episodes.
Mitchell Brin, Allergan’s chief scientific officer for Botox, said previous studies suggested people with chronic migraines who are prescribed the injections tend to have shorter-lasting migraines on the days they have headaches. Brin said the difference equaled about 40 fewer hours per month of pain compared with patients given placebos.
“(That’s) quite meaningful,” Brin said. “The impact on their lives is quite significant.”
Another headache researcher, Vincent Martin of the University of Cincinnati, told Reuters that doctors have known for years that Botox does not help people with less-frequent headaches.
“[The Jackson study] gives a more definitive conclusion on that,” Martin said. “It’s a very important treatment for many people with chronic migraine, not for everyone.”
Building Buy
IRA Realty Capital of Newport Beach is part of a joint venture that recently bought a newly constructed, 92,000-square-foot medical office building in Dallas for $25.5 million.
The Eye Institute of Texas building is located between Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas and the Medical City Hospital of Dallas.
It was 81% leased when the deal for the building was closed. IRA said it is in discussions with several potential tenants that could bring the building’s occupancy up to 94%.
Current tenants include the Ophthalmology Surgery Center of Dallas and Glaucoma Associates of Texas.
IRA has completed in excess of $100 million transactions over the past 18 months. The firm is under contract to acquire $90 million worth of multi-tenant commercial real estate in deals that are expected to close in the current quarter.
Quality Deal
Irvine-based healthcare software company Quality Systems Inc. has acquired Matrix Management Solutions of North Canton, Ohio, on undisclosed terms.
Matrix provides revenue-cycle management service, healthcare information technology products and training and implementation and support for Quality’s NextGen technology. Matrix has been a reseller of NextGen since 1998.
The deal closed on April 16. Sharon Funk, Matrix’ chief operating officer, assumed the role of vice president and general manager at the North Canton facility, while Mark Terpylak, who had served as Matrix’s president, is staying on in a strategic consulting role.
Hoag Trial
The Neurosciences Institute of Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach is enrolling patients in a late-stage clinical trial for treating glioblastoma multiforme, a form of brain cancer.
Glioblastoma multiforme most often occurs in adults between age 45 and 70, with an average patient survival rate of 14.6 months after diagnosis.
Northwest Biotherapeutics Inc. of Bethesda, Md. is sponsoring the trial. The trial is looking at Northwest’s DCVax-L, which has been in development for a decade and is an experimental treatment intended to help the patient’s own immune system attack the already present cancer.
Hoag is one of a small number of centers that are now enrolling in the clinical trial’s second phase, which covers newly diagnosed patients and is randomized. Overall, 160 patients will receive DCVax-L while 80 will get a placebo.
Bits and Pieces
The Cordelia Knott Wellness Foundation in Orange recently moved to join with the Center for Cancer Prevention and Treatment at St. Joseph Hospital-Orange. The foundation said it will cease to exist by the end of the year but will continue its mission of helping people with cancer with small grants through the Cornelia Knott Support Fund, managed by the cancer center’s staff. … Irvine biotechnology company CombiMatrix Corp. hired Richard Hockett as medical director. Hockett, a clinical pathologist, formerly was chief medical officer for Affymetrix Inc., a Santa Clara-based provider of tools and chemicals for genetic testing.
