Cancer

Redx to move HQ and development ops to ex-AstraZeneca site in Cheshire

14-Apr-2016 By Gareth Macdonald

Redx Pharma has announced plans to set up a development facility and new headquarters in Alderly Park, Cheshire.

Quanterix raises $46m with goal of adding 60 new assays

23-Mar-2016 By Melissa Fassbender

The funding will be used to accelerate the company’s global expansion of its proprietary digital immunoassay platform into new markets.

Propanc receives $1.2m to fast track preclinical studies

22-Mar-2016 By Melissa Fassbender

Propanc Health Group Corporation has received $1.2m from an institutional investor in order to fast track preclinical activities for its lead product, PRP.

Crown licenses cell based prostate cancer models from UK researchers

11-Feb-2016 By Gareth Macdonald

Crown Bioscience has expanded its portfolio of non-animal based disease models by licensing a range of cellular prostate cancer models developed by UK academics.

Sandoz teams with delivery tech firm MedinCell to get under the skin of cancer

04-Feb-2016 By Dan Stanton

Novartis subsidiary Sandoz will commercialise small and large molecule injectables using French delivery tech firm MedinCell’s subcutaneous controlled release platform.

Austrianova rolls out cell banking and fill finish services

27-Jan-2016 By Gareth Macdonald

Austrianova has launched cell banking and fill finish services for cell therapy developers at its facility in Singapore.

Liquid-metal 'nano-terminators' seek and destroy

14-Jan-2016 By Melissa Fassbender

A new liquid-metal drug delivery method shows promise in enhancing the effectiveness of drugs.

AMRI's Burlington to produce cancer drug in JV with Eagle

11-Jan-2016 By Dan Stanton

A chemotherapy drug marketed by Eagle Pharmaceuticals has become the first product approved for commercial manufacture from AMRI’s once troubled Burlington facility.

Recipharm invests in prostate cancer drug and delivery tech firm LIDDS

17-Dec-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

Recipharm has invested in delivery tech firm and prostate cancer drug developer LIDDS as part of manufacturing contract.

Crown increasing cell line model capacity by 25% in UK

08-Dec-2015 By Dan Stanton

Preclinical CRO Crown Bioscience will further increase capacity across its UK facilities to support demand for syngeneic models.

CRL buys German mouse model CRO for €34m

24-Nov-2015 By Fiona BARRY

Charles River has acquired German preclinical CRO Oncotest GmbH in a €34m ($36m) cash deal.

Malaria protein conjugate could deliver anti-cancer drugs, researcher

30-Oct-2015 By Anthony King

A protein in malaria could be used to deliver anti-cancer drugs to many types of tumours.

Innovate UK grants $2.9m to cancer enzyme inhibitor hunt

22-Sep-2015 By Fiona BARRY

The UK government is granting £1.9m ($2.9m) to pharma company Mission Therapeutics to create small-molecule cancer inhibitors.

Trial supplies of candidate breast cancer radio-mAb still stable after 5 years says study

11-Sep-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

Trial supplies of a radio-immunotherapy drug made by Areva Med in compliance with GMP are stable five years after they were produced according to the results of new analysis.

Cure not kill: Dynamite ingredient can improve cancer treatment says study

27-Aug-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

Nitroglycerin could make cancer drugs more effective say researchers trying to use the dynamite ingredient to help destroy tumours.

Takeda invests in microdose tech collaborator Presage Biosciences

20-Aug-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

Takeda has invested in Presage Biosciences whose tech platform is designed to let pharmas test multiple cancer drug combinations in a single trial.

Novartis defends Afinitor after thrashing from BMS and Exelixis trials

22-Jul-2015 By Fiona BARRY

Novartis expects sales of Afinitor to slow after BMS and Exelixis announced this week their pipeline drugs beat it on renal cell carcinoma.

Epic Sciences expands partnership with LabCorp’s Covance in Asia

09-Jul-2015 By Zachary Brennan

Epic and LabCorp’s Covance have agreed to extend their partnership to provide circulating tumor cell (CTC) technology and oncology clinical trial support in Asia. 

Juniper to make OxSonics' ultrasound particles to aid cancer drug delivery

30-Jun-2015 By Dan Stanton

Juniper Pharma Services has won a contract to manufacture ‘sono-sensitive particles’ used to aid delivery of cancer drugs into solid tumours for OxSonics.

Scientists create 3D multiple myeloma model to aid preclinical development efforts

22-Jun-2015 By Anthony King

Scientists have developed a new way of visualizing multiple myelomas in 3D by replicating tumours in hens’ eggs in a approach they say will aid drugmakers.

Phos enzyme ID'd using CRISPR may lead to safer cancer meds say researchers

19-Jun-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

A newly identified enzyme that modifies secreted proteins could lead to safer cancer drugs and new osteoporosis treatments say scientists.

Glowing mice with working immune systems make for better cancer models say scientists

19-Jun-2015 By Anthony King

Mice engineered to recognise light-emitting markers as self will let cancer drug developers to track tumor growth in animals with functioning immune systems say US researchers.

New drug delivery technologies seek to advance personalized oncology treatments

11-Jun-2015 By Zachary Brennan

Ongoing research on two new drug delivery systems could help clinicians more accurately understand how certain tumors react to different treatments, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Goodwin to manufacture ADC for Aspyrian

10-Jun-2015 By Zachary Brennan

Aspyrian Therapeutics has selected CDMO Goodwin Biotechnology to complete process development, scale-up, and cGMP manufacturing of their novel antibody drug conjugate (ADC).  

Opko Health acquires Bio-Reference Labs for $1.47bn

05-Jun-2015 By Zachary Brennan

Drug and diagnostics company Opko Health will acquire the third largest US-based clinical lab Bio-Reference Laboratories for $1.47bn. 

LabCorp partnership seeks to advance precision medicine in oncology

02-Jun-2015 By Zachary Brennan

LabCorp has partnered with Sysmex to focus on the development of blood-based molecular diagnostic tests to advance precision medicine in oncology. 

Lonza set to get commercial Adva-27a contract if cancer drug is approved

27-May-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

Lonza shipped a sample batch of a drug for resistant cancers this week and is set produce commercial supplies if the Phase I candidate goes on to be approved says Sunshine Biopharma. 

Anti-fungal shows promise for cancer breakthrough in preclinical tests

21-Apr-2015 By Anthony King

An anti-fungal drug shows potential to treat a range of cancers, according to research from the Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project, but the drugmakers will need a financial incentive to pursue a licence for new indications.

Horizon partners with ArcherDX to meet growing demand in the translational sequencing market

25-Mar-2015 By Zachary Brennan

Research tool supplier Horizon Discovery Group and ArcherDX, a supplier of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) fusion detection, have signed an Original Equipment Manufacture (OEM) agreement that will see Horizon’s Reference Materials supplied as a standalone...

Lilly inks $450m oncology drug development collaboration in China

20-Mar-2015 By Zachary Brennan

Eli Lilly and China biotech Innovent Biologics will collaborate to develop at least three cancer treatments over the next decade. 

Pharma moves into 3D printing with customizable drug delivery devices

19-Mar-2015 By Anthony King

3D printers have been used to create tailor-made drug delivery tools, including bioactive radiology devices.

Nanobiotix appoints CordenPharma as CMO for potential nanoparticle-based cancer treatment

19-Mar-2015 By Zachary Brennan

The late clinical-stage nanomedicine company Nanobiotix has selected CordenPharma as its contract manufacturing partner. 

Why PKC inhibitors fail: Protein Kinase Cs suppress tumours according to new study

10-Mar-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

Cancer Drug firms trying to block protein kinase Cs should rethink say researchers behind a study indicating that the enzymes suppress tumour development.

AbbVie buys Pharmacyclics, bags Imbruvica blood cancer blockbuster

05-Mar-2015 By Fiona BARRY

AbbVie is set to buy Californian small-molecule maker Pharmacyclics for $21bn (€19bn), cementing its haematology-oncology business.

Crown Bioscience nabs PDX models, service ops of Molecular Response

17-Feb-2015 By Zachary Brennan

Preclinical CRO Crown is acquiring all of Molecular Response’s existing PDX (patient-derived xenograft) models as well as 8,000 viable human tumors for model development.

Chinese researchers develop nanocarrier for pancreatic cancer drug

09-Feb-2015 By Zachary Brennan

Researchers from the Oncology Department of Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital in China recently published a study in Advanced Functional Materials announcing the creation of a new nano-carrier for pancreatic cancer treatments.

Provenge in a dish not yet sold: Valeant ups Dendreon offer after competing bids

06-Feb-2015 By Gareth Macdonald

Bankrupt cell therapy firm Dendreon has attracted more suitors according to stalking horse bidder Valeant, which upped its offer for the Provenge (sipuleucel-T) developer to $400m this week.

Valeant eyes up personalised meds market with $300m Provenge bid

30-Jan-2015 By Dan Stanton

Valeant is set to buy Dendreon’s prostate cancer drug Provenge as an economic way to enter the personalised oncology market.

Argos looks to disposables for manufacturing personalized immunotherapies

07-Jan-2015 By Zachary Brennan

Cancer and infectious disease immunotherapy developer Argos Therapeutics is collaborating with Saint-Gobain’s Performance Plastics division, to design, integrate and scale production of a range of disposables for use in the manufacturing of Argos’ lead...

Sotio selects Czech CRO for personalised dendritic cell vaccine trial

07-Jan-2015 By Dan Stanton

Sotio has selected local CRO Accord Research to carry out Phase I/II trials on its dendritic cell vaccines to treat patients with lung cancer in the Czech Republic.

Cardinal Health to manufacture Bayer cancer drug in new Indiana facility

23-Dec-2014 By Zachary Brennan

Bayer HealthCare and Cardinal Health have signed a 15-year agreement for the contract manufacturing of the castration-resistant prostate cancer drug Xofigo (radium Ra 223 dichloride).  

In nano-rod we trust: magnetic pulse tech breakthrough for cancer drug delivery

17-Dec-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

A magnetic pulse technology that can align and push nanoparticles to points distant to magnet surfaces could finally make magnets attractive for deep tissue drug delivery according to researchers.

Sweden hopes high-tech biomarker database will help trial recruitment

15-Dec-2014 By Fiona Barry

Sweden is an expert in high-tech trials but stalls in the recruitment phase, says the academic trying to change all that with a database of biomarkers matching patients to studies.

Tail-ored to patients: Horizon latest CRO to offer PDX mouse models

23-Oct-2014 By Fiona Barry

Horizon is already making plans for the research model company it acquired last month, announcing today it will offer patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models for breast cancer under the Sage Labs name.

Sellas signs up PPD as a preferred partner

21-Oct-2014 By Zachary Brennan

Swiss-based Sellas Life Sciences Group has signed a definitive master service agreement with CRO Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) to advance and expand clinical and regulatory development.

CFDA approves BTG bead delivery device for liver cancer

29-Aug-2014 By Dan Stanton

BTG has received approval from the China FDA for a liver cancer treatment which uses its hydrogel product DC Beads.

Crown: improving animal irradiation can unlock failed drug candidates

24-Jun-2014 By Fiona Barry

The ability to pinpoint radiotherapy in animal testing could give failed cancer drug candidates a new lease of life, says preclinical CRO (contract research organisation) Crown Biosciences.

$27m investment sees Crown team with China’s biggest mutant mouse org

19-May-2014 By Fiona Barry

Crown Biosciences has partnered with China’s biggest producer of mutant mice to build better experimental models for its cancer research sponsors, as part of its $26.5m (£16m) venture funding.

MIT researchers create polymer nanoparticle for cancer drug delivery

15-May-2014 By Anthony King

Chemists at MIT have created a triple warhead against cancer.  They believe theirs is the first example a polymer nanoparticle which carries a precise ratio of three drugs that can be released in response to three distinct triggers.  

Swiss gold delivers hope as carrier for cancer drugs

29-Apr-2014 By Anthony King

Researchers in Switzerland have devised a form of gold nanoparticle that shows promise as a weapon against tumours and as a delivery vehicle for drugs.