A new anti-cancer drug delivery system which allows more targeted
treatment and helps avoid the unsafe and unpleasant side effects of
chemotherapy is due to enter clinical trials in Europe and the US
for use with anti-cancer drug...
Forbes has highlighted the important role of nanotechnology in
driving forward the pharmaceutical industry with three of their top
five nanotech breakthroughs in 2006 having biological applications.
US researchers have combined cancer drug-carrying liposomes and
heat, which accelerates drug release and delivers 30 times more
drug to tumours, as visualised in vivo using magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI)
Shares in Telik plummeted after they reported their most advanced
drug candidate failed three clinical trials, leaving analysts
asking why they did not find out sooner.
Ciphergen has hired contract research organization (CRO)
PrecisionMed to help it with upcoming clinical trials for its
experimental ovarian cancer tests.
Onyx Pharmaceuticals have fallen out of the race to find a badly
needed new treatment for skin cancer after their lead drug tripped
up in its final stage clinical trial.
France has placed itself firmly at the forefront of research into
personalised medical solutions for cancer, infectious diseases and
rare genetic diseases by investing nearly half a billion euros into
the ADNA project.
MultiCell Therapeutics, a recent US spin-out, has designed an
anticancer therapy that has been shown in animal models to
completely destroy malignant tumours, even when very advanced.
Scientists have discovered a new nanoparticule-based drug delivery
system to treat brain cancer that it claims could revolutionise
currently used chemotherapeutic treatments for this devastating
type of cancer.
Seattle Genetics revealed details of a phase I clinical trial
investigating the viability of a treatment for Hodgkin's disease
and other CD30-positive haematologic malignancies.
A discovery made by scientists has pointed to a brighter future in
the development of drugs to more effectively target, treat and
possibly even prevent inherited and non-inherited thyroid cancers.
Scientists have mapped the entire genetic sequence of breast and
colon cancers, which could lead to better ways to diagnose cancer
in its early, most treatable stages, as well as further develop
personalised treatments.
A start-up company has given new hope for patients with brain
tumour by developing a new medical device that it claims is the
first ultrasound-based system to allow drug delivery to the brain.
Charles River Laboratories has been awarded a $111.6m (€89m),
10-year contract from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), doubling
the size of the company's current contract with NCI.
Researchers believe that a little-known antibiotic could well prove
effective against cancer, showing promise because it has not shown
toxic side effects, which continue to blight current anti-cancer
agents.
Scientists have come up with an innovative tool that may accelerate
the drug development process, which has slowed down considerably
despite the investment in new technologies and analytical
techniques.
Researchers have isolated two proteins, which are involved in
stopping a gene from producing a protein that is essential for
cancer cell proliferation. The gene could form the basis for an
anti-cancer agent that targets this mechanism.
Researchers have identified a diagnostic marker that they think
could prove useful in gauging the effectiveness of anti-angiogenic
drugs marking the first time that biomarkers have been defined for
this drug class.
A new drug class for the treatment of cancer has been hailed as a
breakthrough by researchers in Denmark, who believe that patients
with advanced breast cancer could stand to gain the most benefit
from this new treatment.
Argos Therapeutics has announced that dosing has been initiated in
a Phase I/II clinical trial to test the activity and safety of
AGS-003, a personalised immunotherapy for advanced kidney cancer
(metastatic renal cell carcinoma).
Ariad Pharmaceuticals has been issued with a patent that covers the
novel use of mTOR inhibitors that are designed for the treatment of
cancers including soft-tissue and bone sarcomas; prostate, breast,
pancreatic, brain, lung and...
Dendreon has finished the construction of its New Jersey
manufacturing facility which it will use to produce its
investigational active cellular immunotherapy for advanced prostate
cancer, hoping to be the first to bring it to patients.
In their hunt for DNA that is amplified in cancers, researchers
have discovered a new cancer-promoting role for a gene that has
been shown to transform mammary epithelial cells into cancerous
ones.
Researchers have identified a gene that plays a pivotal role in
initiating two DNA damage detection and repair pathways in the
human genome, suggesting that it functions as a tumour suppressor.
Drug researchers have turned to an unusual source to boost the
efficacy of a particular anticancer drug by investigating the
properties of a mushroom that has been used for centuries in
Eastern Asian medicine.
Genentech and Inotek have entered into a strategic alliance in
which they will concentrate on the discovery, development and
commercialisation of PARP inhibitors for cancer - a class of drug
that has demonstrated high efficacy in...
MedImmune and Micromet have provided details on a novel drug
molecule that targets a tyrosine kinase receptor that is frequently
overexpressed on solid tumours and provides the opportunity to
develop an anti-cancer therapeutic, which...
European researchers have not only devised a new diagnostic lab
tool for prostate cancer but have also identified a new molecular
marker that makes the identification of the disease much quicker.
Chi-Med has been given the Food and Drug Administraton (FDA) green
light to broaden its oncology drug candidate clinical trials after
it exhibited encouraging results, which the company want to expand
into a much wider patient population...
ChemGenex has teamed up with MolecularMD in a deal that focuses on
a drug resistance mutation seen in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)
patients, which has seen these sufferers no longer respond to
Gleevec, a popular cancer treatment.
Roche took the opportunity to reassure investors and analysts as it
outlined its plans to deal with the impending threat to Avastin and
Herceptin. Roche's new indications for cancer treatments suggest
that its oncology portfolio...
Asterand has announced the formation of a partnership with Rubicon
Genomics to develop new cancer diagnostic tests that identify the
DNA methylation mechanism that causes cells to become cancerous
making the assignment of treatment...
Researchers have developed a new nanocarrier system for the
delivery of drugs which contains iron and so can be directed by a
magnetic field to specific areas of the body, a technology which
could prove invaluable in the treatment...
Applied Biosystems (AB) make available a wider range of microRNA
assays, expanding the selection to 300 individual assays that are
ideal for cell differentiation, developmental biology, stem cell
and cancer research.
New research has suggested that that pharmacological inhibition of
a protein's role in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and cancer research
could be key to either preventing or promoting cell death.
A potential therapy, which specifically targets cancer cells, could
be in the offering after Neotropix received FDA approval to begin
clinical trials of a drug candidate that offers new drug treatment
hope for advanced cancers.
US scientists have discovered a way to improve the effectiveness of
antisense cancer drugs that involve using gold nanoparticles, which
when combined with DNA, outperform conventional antisense agents.
Genentech has entered into a collaboration with biopharmaceutical
firm Immunogen to develop a commercial manufacturing process for
its anticancer drug trastuzumab (Herceptin) using its
tumour-activated prodrug (TAP) technology.
A target-seeking molecule that can be used to visualise and treat
cancer tumours is set to improve detection and treatment of the
killer disease, which is a lot more successful if therapy begins at
an earlier stage.
Scientists think that their latest discovery could result in the
production of new drugs to treat Kaposi sarcoma tumour growth,
which is the most frequent tumour in AIDS patients and is caused by
infection of the patients with the...
Invitrogen and Signalomics have agreed terms to develop
nanotechnology-based laboratory approaches to cancer diagnostics in
a move that is set to make the identification of tumours easier and
quicker.
A team of researchers have developed a strategy in which genes
linked to cancer mutations could easily be identified aiding
predictions as to which patient will respond favourably to novel
drug treatments.
Outsourcing outfit, Oxford Genome Sciences and the University of
Oxford have announced the development of new clinical biomarkers
for colorectal cancer, which paves the way for a more personalised
approach in treating this killer...
VASTox has initiated a fifth drug discovery programme for cancer
focusing on a crucial pathway that is active in the developing
embryo when cells are required to constantly grow and
differentiate. The pathway has been identified as...
Eden Biodesign and Onyvax have announced the formation of a unique
biomanufacturing contract, in which the Onyvax's development of
novel cancer therapies will be supported by Eden's cGMP clinical
manufacturing services.