Sunitinib News and Research

RSS

Sunitinib malate is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat a type of stomach cancer called gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). It is used in patients whose condition has become worse while taking another drug called imatinib mesylate or who are not able to take imatinib mesylate.

Investigators demonstrate safety and efficacy of targeted medication to shrink advanced kidney cancers

A multicenter team of investigators led by the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has demonstrated, for the first time, the safety and efficacy of a targeted medication to shrink advanced kidney cancers prior to partial kidney removal and reconstruction. Their findings were published in the April 2010 online edition of BJU International.

6 May 2010

Synta Pharmaceuticals reports net loss of $9.3 million for first-quarter 2010

4 May 2010

CINJ trial targets new combination therapy for advanced solid tumors

Building off recent laboratory discoveries relating to how cancer cells become resistant to therapies that attempt to starve cancer, scientists at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) are now applying that knowledge to a process in which cancer cells eat themselves to downsize and resist therapy. The ultimate goal of this effort is to improve upon current anticancer treatments.

29 Apr 2010

Pfizer announces discontinuation of SUN 1170 Phase 3 study of Sutent in HCC

Pfizer Inc. announced today the discontinuation of the SUN 1170 Phase 3 open-label study of Sutent(r) (sunitinib malate) in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, or liver cancer. Following a review by the independent Data Monitoring Committee, the study was discontinued based on a higher incidence of serious adverse events in the sunitinib arm compared to the sorafenib arm and the fact that sunitinib did not meet the criteria to demonstrate that it was either superior or non-inferior to sorafenib in the survival of patients with advanced hepatocellular cancer.

23 Apr 2010

FDA approves Novartis Pharmaceuticals' Zortress for preventing rejection of kidney transplants

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Zortress® (everolimus) oral tablets for the prevention of rejection of kidney transplants in adult patients at low-to-moderate immunologic risk. Zortress is to be given in combination with reduced doses of the calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) cyclosporine, as well as basiliximab and corticosteroids.

22 Apr 2010

New treatment modalities for RCC

Renal cell carcinoma accounts for about 3% of all solid tumours in adults, and worldwide, more than 200.000 new cases and 100.000 deaths result each year from this malignancy.

21 Apr 2010

Study underscores potential for VBL Therapeutics VB-111 as broad-spectrum cancer therapy

VBL Therapeutics today announced positive results from preclinical and Phase 1 studies evaluating the company's lead anti-cancer agent, VB-111 - a first-in-class, targeted biological agent shown to work via dual-action, anti-angiogenic and vascular disruptive mechanism of action - in metastatic cancer. Preclinical data evaluating VB-111 in a comprehensive set of in vivo studies employing the Lewis Lung metastasis mouse model showed the compound to be safe and specific, with a 90% reduction in tumor burden of lung metastases after only one injection.

20 Apr 2010

Surgery still the only measure to cure RCC

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for about 3% of all solid tumours in adults, and worldwide, more than 200.000 new cases and 100.000 deaths result each year from this malignancy.

19 Apr 2010

New data from Pfizer Oncology's pipeline to be presented at AACR 2010

Pfizer Oncology announced today that it will present new data from the company's pipeline, including two novel, dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitors (PF-04691502 and PKI-587, also known as PF-05212384); crizotinib (PF-02341066), an ALK inhibitor that also inhibits c-MET; and PF-04605412, an anti-α5β1 inhibitor.

15 Apr 2010

Combining antiangiogenic cancer therapy with oncolytic virotherapy leads to regression of tumors

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. announced today that a paper entitled "Antiangiogenic cancer therapy combined with oncolytic virotherapy leads to regression of established tumors in mice," co-senior authored by Dr. Richard Vile of the Department of Immunology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA, and Dr. Kevin Harrington of the Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK, was published in the online version of the Journal of Clinical Investigation on April 1, 2010.

8 Apr 2010

Synta Pharmaceuticals to present posters on STA-9090 and elesclomol at AACR 2010

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to treat severe medical conditions, today announced that Synta will present multiple posters at the American Association for Cancer Research 101st Annual Meeting 2010 to be held April 17-21, 2010 in Washington, DC.

8 Apr 2010

NICE leaves many patients with rarer forms of cancer without drugs

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is failing to follow its own guidance aimed at making live-extending treatments available on the NHS, leaving many patients with rarer forms of cancer without drugs that could prolong their lives, a campaign group has said.

18 Mar 2010

Two Phase 3 studies of Sutent in advanced breast cancer fail to meet primary endpoints

Pfizer Inc. announced today that two Phase 3 studies of Sutent® (sunitinib malate) in advanced breast cancer did not meet their primary endpoints. The SUN 1064 Phase 3 study of sunitinib in combination with docetaxel for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced HER-2 negative breast cancer did not show a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival compared with docetaxel alone.

12 Mar 2010

Positive data from Argos Therapeutics' AGS-003 Phase 2 trial for mRCC

Argos Therapeutics today announced the presentation of positive data from a Phase 2 trial that evaluated the safety, clinical response and immune response of AGS-003 treatment in newly diagnosed patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). The data were discussed March 7 in a poster presentation at the ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.

8 Mar 2010

Synta Pharmaceuticals presents preclinical and clinical data of Hsp90 inhibitor STA-9090

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to treat severe medical conditions, today announced that Dr. Geoffrey I. Shapiro of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, presented preclinical and clinical data on STA-9090, a potent second-generation Hsp90 inhibitor, at IASLC (International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer) 10th Annual Targeted Therapies of the Treatment of Lung Cancer Meeting in Santa Monica, CA.

27 Feb 2010

VARI researchers find ways to reverse resistance to sunitinib: Patients with ccRCC show positive response

Van Andel Research Institute researchers have found a way to reverse resistance to sunitinib, a treatment that is currently the first line of defense against clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), a deadly form of kidney cancer. Most patients who show a positive response to sunitinib develop a resistance to the drug after one year of treatment.

19 Feb 2010

Synta Pharmaceuticals' STA-9090 inhibits WT1 protein in AML

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. today announced that preclinical results presented at the “Bridging the Gap 2010” Hematologic Conference, held in Singapore City, Singapore, February 5-7, 2010, shows that STA-9090, a potent inhibitor of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), inhibits the Wilms’ tumor 1 (WT1) protein, a key transcription factor that drives disease progression in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) as well as certain other leukemias. STA-9090 is currently enrolling patients in two clinical trials in AML and other hematologic cancers.

9 Feb 2010

Pfizer reports final results from randomized Phase 3 trial of Sutent

Pfizer Inc. today announced final results from a randomized Phase 3 trial of Sutent (sunitinib malate) in patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, a type of cancer which originates in the hormone-producing area of the pancreas.

23 Jan 2010

Health Canada approves Novartis' Afinitor to treat patients with mRCC

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. (Novartis) announced today that Afinitor(R) (everolimus), a once-daily oral cancer treatment, has been approved by Health Canada for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), also known as advanced kidney cancer, after failure of initial treatment with VEGF-receptor targeted therapies Sutent(R) (sunitinib) or Nexavar(R) (sorafenib).

20 Jan 2010

Synta Pharmaceuticals presents preclinical results of STA-9090 at AACR-IASLC Joint Conference

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: SNTA), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to treat severe medical conditions, today announced that preclinical results presented at the AACR-IASLC (American Academy of Cancer Research – International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer) Joint Conference based on work done at Synta and at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston showed that STA-9090, a potent, synthetic inhibitor of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), demonstrated potent activity against 100% of all non-small cell lung cancer cell lines tested, including those with EGFR, HER2 or KRAS mutations including the EGFR T790 mutation that is present in roughly 50% of cases of erlotinib or gefitinib resistance.

13 Jan 2010