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European Commission has approved the use of Herceptin® (trastuzumab) in combination with Taxotere®

The approval is based on study results which showed that for women with HER2-positive breast cancer, the combination of Herceptin and Taxotere significantly improved median life expectancy by more than one-third (31 months with Herceptin plus Taxotere vs. 22 months for Taxotere alone).

23 Jun 2004

Potential new strategy for blocking tumor growth

Targeting a master molecule that helps cancer cells survive when blood oxygen levels are low may offer a potentially powerful strategy for blocking tumor growth, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

16 Jun 2004

Cancer drug gefitinib (Iressa) may be able to restore tamoxifen's anticancer activity

A new study has found a possible mechanism for tamoxifen resistance in breast cancer and provides evidence that another cancer drug--gefitinib (Iressa)--may be able to restore tamoxifen's anticancer activity.

15 Jun 2004

Body fat not always bad

With the threat of an obesity crisis looming, a study led by UCL researchers reveals today that fat tissue isn’t always the enemy. Reporting in the journal Science they show that a molecular signalling pathway in fat tissue is an important mediator in extending lifespan.

11 Jun 2004

Multi-targeted anticancer drug shows promise as treatment for metastatic renal cell cancer

A new multi-targeted anticancer drug called SU11248 has shown very promising results in the treatment for metastatic renal cell cancer, one of the most chemotherapy resistant of all cancers.

6 Jun 2004

Vitamin C can increase the severity of spontaneous knee osteoarthritis

High doses of vitamin C increase the severity of spontaneous knee osteoarthritis in an animal model of the disease, according to a new study by Duke University Medical Center researchers.

5 Jun 2004

Drug Tarceva improves survival chance for patients with advanced lung cancer

Roche OSI Pharmaceuticals and Genentech today announced that their investigational drug Tarceva(TM) (erlotinib) achieved a significant 42.5% improvement in median survival compared to placebo in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

5 Jun 2004

Drug helps patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

A drug designed to cut off a tumor’s blood supply, when paired with a chemotherapy combination, resulted in significant improvement in survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, the first time in decades that survival times have been extended in patients with this devastating form of advanced cancer.

3 Jun 2004

Drug to extend lives of colorectal cancer patients

A drug designed to cut off a tumor's blood supply, when paired with a chemotherapy combination, resulted in significant improvement in survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, the first time in decades that survival times have been extended in patients with this devastating form of advanced cancer.

2 Jun 2004

Avastin study shows significant improvement in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Genentech, Inc. and Roche have announced that the New England Journal of Medicine published the first Phase III study of an anti-angiogenesis cancer therapy, showing that the addition of Avastin™ (bevacizumab) to the IFL chemotherapy regimen (5-FU/Leucovorin/ CPT-11) significantly extended survival in patients with first-line (previously untreated) metastatic colorectal cancer.

2 Jun 2004

Novel molecular targeting technologies to deliver gene-silencing therapy

Researchers have combined novel molecular targeting technologies to deliver gene-silencing therapy specifically to tumor cells shielded by a normally impermeable obstacle, the blood brain barrier.

1 Jun 2004

Combination therapy may be useful in humans with spinal cord injury

A combination therapy using transplanted cells plus two experimental drugs significantly improves function in paralyzed rats, a new study shows. The results suggest that a similar therapy may be useful in humans with spinal cord injury.

23 May 2004

Oxygen delivered through the nose may improve poor vision caused by diabetic macular edema

In a study of five diabetic patients with persistent macular edema, breathing supplemental oxygen for three months reduced fluid buildup and swelling in the macula and, in some cases, improved visual acuity. Researchers think the therapy could be used in conjunction with laser treatments that also improve oxygenation in the retina to provide long-term stability in these patients.

20 May 2004

New study of tumor genetics may help to treat patients with head and neck cancer

Head and neck tumors account for more than 40,000 new cancers annually in the United States. The most common of these is squamous cell carcinoma. Prognosis is based largely on location and size of the tumor, and if the cancer has spread, or metastasized, to lymph nodes and distant sites in the body.

19 May 2004

Oxygen delivered through the nose may improve poor vision caused by diabetic macular edema

Oxygen delivered through the nose may improve poor vision caused by diabetic macular edema, fluid buildup in the part of the eye responsible for central vision, according to a pilot study by scientists at Johns Hopkins and the National Eye Institute.

18 May 2004

A second-generation targetted antibody for potential cancer therapy

The overproduction, or 'overexpression', of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is one of the most common aberrations in cancer, and subsequently agents that inhibit EGFR are among the most hotly-pursued potential products in the pharmaceutical industry.

6 May 2004

Australian company receives FDA orphan drug designation for product to treat malignant melanomas

Progen Industries Limited, an Australian anti-cancer drug development company, announced today that it has received orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their lead anti-angiogenesis product PI-88 for treatment of malignant melanoma.

3 May 2004

Developing smart drugs

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Researchers, sensing an opening in the cancer battle, are mounting a quick thrust to flush out suspected molecular cancer triggers in tumor cells.

30 Apr 2004

Gene therapy may delay Alzheimer progression

Results from a preliminary eight-patient study of gene therapy for Alzheimer’s disease are positive enough to justify a larger clinical trial, Mark H. Tuszynski, M.D., Ph.D., reported April 27 at the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. Dr. Tuszynski says that a larger trial is being planned at a major medical center in Chicago.

30 Apr 2004

Time bomb in heart leads to heart failure in some congenital heart disease patients

However, surgical correction of certain forms of congenital heart disease may not fix the underlying molecular trigger that drives progressive heart failure and sudden death later in life, according to new research from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine.

29 Apr 2004

Growth Factor News and Research

European Commission has approved the use of Herceptin® (trastuzumab) in combination with Taxotere®

Potential new strategy for blocking tumor growth

Cancer drug gefitinib (Iressa) may be able to restore tamoxifen's anticancer activity

Body fat not always bad

Multi-targeted anticancer drug shows promise as treatment for metastatic renal cell cancer

Vitamin C can increase the severity of spontaneous knee osteoarthritis

Drug Tarceva improves survival chance for patients with advanced lung cancer

Drug helps patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Drug to extend lives of colorectal cancer patients

Avastin study shows significant improvement in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Novel molecular targeting technologies to deliver gene-silencing therapy

Combination therapy may be useful in humans with spinal cord injury

Oxygen delivered through the nose may improve poor vision caused by diabetic macular edema

New study of tumor genetics may help to treat patients with head and neck cancer

Oxygen delivered through the nose may improve poor vision caused by diabetic macular edema

A second-generation targetted antibody for potential cancer therapy

Australian company receives FDA orphan drug designation for product to treat malignant melanomas

Developing smart drugs

Gene therapy may delay Alzheimer progression

Time bomb in heart leads to heart failure in some congenital heart disease patients

Discover how SciY empowers scientists

Why use light scattering to analyze proteins and viral vectors?

Changing the landscape of R&D to build clinical success from the ground up

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