Avastin News and Research

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Avastin is a biologic antibody designed to specifically bind to a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) that plays an important role throughout the lifecycle of the tumor to develop and maintain blood vessels, a process known as angiogenesis. Avastin is designed to interfere with the blood supply to a tumor by directly binding to the VEGF protein to prevent interactions with receptors on blood vessel cells. Avastin does not bind to receptors on normal or cancer cells. The tumor blood supply is thought to be critical to a tumor’s ability to grow and spread in the body (metastasize).

ImmunoGen announces study results of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer therapy at ESMO 2018 Congress

ImmunoGen, Inc., a leader in the expanding field of antibody-drug conjugates for the treatment of cancer, today announced initial safety and preliminary anti-tumor activity from the FORWARD II expansion cohort assessing mirvetuximab soravtansine in combination with Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy, KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab).

22 Oct 2018

Immunotherapy medicine found to be effective in treating uveitis

A team of researchers from the UCH CEU's Biomedical Sciences Institute has tested the efficiency of Bevacizumab, medicine used against cancer and in ophtalmology, to treat uveítis, thus stopping the inflammation from spreading.

19 Oct 2018

Chromosomal instability may predict which patients will respond better to colorectal cancer drug

Researchers at RCSI, along with international collaborators within the ANGIOPREDICT research consortium, have discovered that chromosomal instability (where whole human chromosomes or parts of chromosomes are duplicated or deleted) may predict which patients will receive most benefit from a key drug used to treat colorectal cancer (Avastin).

10 Oct 2018

New book provides evidence that new drugs, medical technologies are safe and effective

Does a new medicine or diagnostic test work? Is it safe? Should the government approve it and insurers pay for it? The answers are not as straightforward as they may seem - and the reasons are the subject of a new book by Karen J. Maschke, a research scholar at The Hastings Center, and Michael K. Gusmano, a Hastings Center research scholar and an associate professor of health policy at Rutgers University School of Public Health.

27 Sep 2018

Saving sight of millions by making eye injections safe and comfortable

Two eye surgeons have written a first-of-its-kind book to save the sight of millions of patients around the world by making eye injections safe and comfortable.

7 Aug 2018

Scientists discover new target for anti-angiogenic tumor therapy

Actively growing tumors have a high demand for oxygen and nutrients. Therefore, they stimulate the growth of blood vessels.

23 Jan 2018

Largest clinical specialty database powers studies that yield key insights

The American Academy of Ophthalmology today announced key milestones and clinical insights from studies powered by its clinical database.

13 Nov 2017

Without price breaks, rural hospitals struggle to stock costly, lifesaving drugs

Hospital pharmacist Mandy Langston remembers when Lulabelle Berry arrived at Stone County Medical Center's emergency department last year.

18 Sep 2017

FDA grants approval for new biosimilar to treat multiple types of cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Mvasi (bevacizumab-awwb) as a biosimilar to Avastin (bevacizumab) for the treatment of multiple types of cancer. Mvasi is the first biosimilar approved in the U.S. for the treatment of cancer.

14 Sep 2017

Two widely used drugs show effectiveness in treating patients with CRVO-associated macular edema

Monthly eye injections of Avastin (bevacizumab) are as effective as the more expensive drug Eylea (aflibercept) for the treatment of central retinal vein occlusion, according to a clinical trial funded by the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.

10 May 2017

Molecular drug imaging likely to benefit children with brain tumors

Brain cancers are difficult to treat, and it can be hard to predict whether a therapy will be effective. When the patient is a child, it's even more important to predict the potential effectiveness of a drug before beginning treatment.

3 May 2017

Allergan, Amgen submit BLA for ABP 215 oncology biosimilar medicine to FDA

Amgen and Allergan plc. today announced the submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ABP 215, a biosimilar candidate to Avastin (bevacizumab).

16 Nov 2016

Scottish women with metastatic carcinoma of cervix could now benefit from Avastin treatment

From today, women in Scotland with an advanced and incurable form of cervical cancer could benefit from the targeted treatment Avastin, which has been given the green light by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) for routine use on the NHS.

11 May 2016

NEI-funded study analyzes outcomes of anti-VEGF therapy for AMD

In a study of nearly 650 people with the eye disease age-related macular degeneration (AMD), half still had vision 20/40 or better, typically good enough to drive or to read standard print, after five years of treatment with anti-VEGF drugs that are injected into the eye. The authors of the study, funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) at the National Institutes of Health, say those outcomes would have been unimaginable about 10 years ago, prior to the drugs' availability.

3 May 2016

Research unveils standard front-line treatment for advanced ovarian cancer

Research led by a Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center physician on ovarian cancer was published in the Feb. 24, 2016 issue of New England Journal of Medicine. The research was directed by Bradley J. Monk, M.D. and researchers at 12 other medical facilities around the nation.

27 Feb 2016

Bevacizumab extends survival of pleural mesothelioma patients

Patients with unresectable, malignant pleural mesothelioma derive a significant survival benefit from the addition of bevacizumab to standard treatment according to phase III trial findings published in The Lancet.

19 Jan 2016

New campaign raises awareness of City of Hope's life-saving mission and impact

Imagine being diagnosed with one of the most rare and aggressive forms of breast cancer, given a five percent chance to live and told having children will never be an option. Southern California local Kommah McDowell was told just that— and then she went to City of Hope.

31 Oct 2015

NAM announces election of three new members from UC San Diego School of Medicine

The National Academy of Medicine announced today the election of three new members from University of California, San Diego School of Medicine: Napoleone Ferrara, MD; Christopher K. Glass, MD, PhD; and Roberto Malinow, MD, PhD. Election to NAM is considered among the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.

20 Oct 2015

Specific biomarker predicts which HER2-negative breast cancer patients respond to targeted therapy

A multicenter team led by Case Western Reserve has demonstrated that brief exposure to a targeted therapy can tell doctors which HER2-negative patients will respond — and which should switch to another kind of treatment.

18 Sep 2015

DelMar presents updated VAL-083 Phase I/II trial data at GBM2015 meeting

DelMar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of new cancer therapies, today presented updated clinical data from its Phase I/II study of lead product candidate VAL-083 (dianhydrogalactitol), in patients with refractory glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), at GBM2015: 2nd International Symposium on Clinical and Basic Investigation in Glioblastoma in Toledo, Spain.

10 Sep 2015