Growth Factor News and Research

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Heparan sulfate may have a key role in tumor-spurred lymphatic vessel growth

Cancer has a mighty big bag of tricks that it uses to evade the body's natural defense mechanisms and proliferate. Among those tricks is one that allows tumor cells to turn the intricate and extensive system of lymphatic vessels into something of a highway to metastasis. Yet research unveiled this week may aid in the development of therapeutics that will put the brakes on such cancer spread, and the researchers who completed the study say the findings may extend to other lymphatic disorders.

27 Apr 2011

Worm protein controls key aspects of secretion of growth factors out of cells

Research in the worm is shedding light on a protein associated with a number of different human cancers, and may point to a highly targeted way to treat them.

22 Apr 2011

JASN publishes positive results from pirfenidone study in diabetic nephropathy

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health and the Mayo Clinic have published promising results of a clinical study using an experimental anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory drug called pirfenidone to treat patients with diabetic nephropathy. Their study will be published in the April 21 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

22 Apr 2011

Researchers discover strategy that promotes new blood vessel formation

Researchers at The University of Western Ontario have discovered a strategy for stimulating the formation of highly functional new blood vessels in tissues that are starved of oxygen. Dr. Geoffrey Pickering and Matthew Frontini at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry developed a strategy in which a biological factor, called fibroblast growth factor 9, is delivered at the same time that the body is making its own effort at forming new blood vessels in vulnerable or damaged tissue.

18 Apr 2011

Klotho hormone can protect kidney from renal fibrosis

A natural hormone known to inhibit aging can also protect kidneys against renal fibrosis, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have demonstrated.

15 Apr 2011

FDA panel votes in favour of Sunitib (Sutent) for pancreatic tumors

Pfizer Inc. announced this Tuesday that its oral multi-kinase inhibitor Sutent was determined as having a favorable benefit-risk profile by an oncology advisory committee of the FDA for the treatment of unresectable pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. The panel voted 8-2 in favor of Sutent – generically called Sunitib malate.

12 Apr 2011

Wrist circumference may predict insulin resistance and cardiovascular risk

Measuring the wrist bone may be a new way to identify which overweight children and adolescents face an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to research in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

12 Apr 2011

Positive interim results from PROLOR's hGH-CTP Phase II trial in growth hormone deficiency

PROLOR Biotech, Inc. today reported positive interim efficacy results from a Phase II clinical trial of its long-acting CTP-modified version of human growth hormone in growth hormone deficient adults.

11 Apr 2011

OncoGenex, Teva's custirsen preclinical data in CRPC presented at AACR meeting

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that new preclinical data of their investigational compound custirsen in castrate resistant prostate cancer were presented this week at the 102nd Annual Meeting of the AACR.

7 Apr 2011

Circadian's VGX-100 neutralises VEGF-C and inhibits tumour growth in mouse models of human cancers

Circadian Technologies Limited today released data at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual conference in Orlando, Florida (U.S.A.) demonstrating that its lead anti-cancer therapeutic, VGX-100, significantly inhibits tumour growth and spread in a variety of different mouse models of human cancer.

7 Apr 2011

Having children early in life lowers lifetime risk of breast cancer

Women who have children, particularly early in life, have a lower lifetime risk of breast cancer compared with women who do not. Now, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers have identified a gene expression pattern in breast tissue that differs between post-menopausal women who had children and post-menopausal women who did not.

6 Apr 2011

Under stressful conditions, presence of high levels of HER2 protein causes a decrease in autophagy

Research from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) on biological pathways that govern progression and treatment responsiveness of HER2 positive breast cancer is being presented at the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) being held in Orlando this week. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

6 Apr 2011

Neurotech’s NT-501 intraocular implant slows progression of vision loss in GA subjects

Neurotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that it was reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that its product candidate NT-501 slowed progression of vision loss in patients with geographic atrophy (GA) associated with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in a Phase 2 study.

6 Apr 2011

ARIAD's ponatinib potently inhibits all four FGFRs abnormally expressed in multiple cancers

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced results of preclinical studies on ponatinib, its investigational pan-BCR-ABL inhibitor, showing potent inhibition of all four members of the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) family of tyrosine kinases that are abnormally expressed in multiple cancers. ARIAD scientists are presenting the data this morning at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida.

5 Apr 2011

Lilly presents results of JAK2, Hedgehog inhibitor preclinical cancer studies at 102nd AACR

Eli Lilly and Company announced results today from two preclinical studies of molecules that target genetic mutations and disable specific signaling pathways that can lead to cancer. The studies evaluated two unique molecules – a JAK2 inhibitor and a Hedgehog inhibitor – with results presented during the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 102nd Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla.

5 Apr 2011

New anti-angiogenic therapy can lead to tumour growth inhibition

Scientists from the School of Pharmacy at Queen's University Belfast and Almac Discovery Ltd, announce the first publication describing a potential new anti-angiogenic therapy based on a natural protein first discovered at QUB. Anti-angiogenics prevent the growth of new blood vessels in tumours and starve them of nutrients, leading to inhibition of tumour growth.

4 Apr 2011

Amgen announces top-line results from motesanib Phase 3 trial against NSCLC

Amgen, Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited today announced top-line results from the MONET1 pivotal Phase 3 trial evaluating motesanib administered in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin in 1,090 patients with advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer.

30 Mar 2011

Merck submits Erbitux indication extension to EMA for NSCLC treatment

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, announced today that it has submitted an indication extension to the European Medicines Agency for the approval of Erbitux in combination with standard 1st line platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with high epidermal growth factor receptor expression.

30 Mar 2011

Scientists discover hormone pathway that can lead to new diabetes treatment

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered a hormone pathway that potentially could lead to new ways of treating type 1 diabetes independent of insulin, long thought to be the sole regulator of carbohydrates in the liver.

25 Mar 2011

NephRx receives new U.S. patent for NX002 to treat IBD

NephRx Corporation today announced issuance of a new U.S. patent for use of its novel growth factor peptide NX002 as a potential treatment for inflammatory bowel disease.

24 Mar 2011