Paclitaxel News and Research

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Paclitaxel is a drug used to treat breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma. It is also used together with another drug to treat non-small cell lung cancer. Paclitaxel is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer. It blocks cell growth by stopping cell division and may kill cancer cells. It is a type of antimitotic agent. Also called Taxol.

The Paclitaxel compound is extracted from the Pacific yew tree Taxus brevifolia with antineoplastic activity. Paclitaxel binds to tubulin and inhibits the disassembly of microtubules, thereby resulting in the inhibition of cell division. This agent also induces apoptosis by binding to and blocking the function of the apoptosis inhibitor protein Bcl-2 (B-cell Leukemia 2). Check for active clinical trials or closed clinical trials using this agent.

Geron second-quarter net loss decreases to $17.0 million

Geron Corporation today reported financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2010.

30 Jul 2010

New Zealand MEDSAFE approves ABRAXANE for metastatic breast cancer

Abraxis BioScience, Inc., a fully integrated, global biotechnology company, and Specialised Therapeutics Ltd. today announced that MEDSAFE, the New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority, has approved for marketing ABRAXANE® (nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel) for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer after failure of anthracycline therapy.

29 Jul 2010

Taiho Pharmaceutical receives approval to market ABRAXANE IV Infusion 100 mg in Japan

Abraxis BioScience, Inc., a fully integrated, global biotechnology company, today announced that Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. has received approval from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to market ABRAXANE IV Infusion 100 mg, Paclitaxel Injection (Suspension with Albumin), for use in the treatment of breast cancer. The New Drug Application (J-NDA) for ABRAXANE was filed with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in 2008.

23 Jul 2010

Boston Scientific second-quarter net sales decrease 7% to $1.928 billion

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010, as well as guidance for net sales and earnings per share (EPS) for the third quarter and full year 2010.

22 Jul 2010

Avastin – breast cancer drug, fails to pass the FDA advisory panel vote on efficacy

According to a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee’s (The Oncology Drugs Advisory Committee, or ODAC) recommendation this Tuesday, the marketing approval of the popular breast cancer drug, Avastin or Bevacizumab should be withdrawn.

21 Jul 2010

Genentech disappointed with FDA ODAC's recommendation against Avastin

Genentech, Inc., a member of the Roche Group, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) voted 12 to one that use of Avastin® (bevacizumab) in combination with paclitaxel for previously untreated (first-line) advanced HER2-negative breast cancer be removed from Avastin's U.S. label.

21 Jul 2010

Oncolytics Biotech receives Canadian approval for combination REOLYSIN Phase 3 trial in head, neck cancer

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. today announced that it has received a No Objection Letter from Health Canada to conduct its Phase 3 trial examining REOLYSIN in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with platinum-refractory head and neck cancers.

19 Jul 2010

Fredericksburg Oncology invites participants for new metastatic melanoma clinical trial

Fredericksburg Oncology is now accepting patients for a new clinical trial supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to evaluate treatment for metastatic (advanced stage) melanoma. The current trial, designed at the Mayo Clinic, combines chemotherapy with targeted molecular agents in an effort to improve control of this difficult disease, reports Dr. Frederick C. Tucker, Jr., who heads this practice.

13 Jul 2010

MiCK assay effective in predicting best chemotherapy response for Endometrial Cancer patients: Study

Oncologists working with DiaTech Oncology have published the results of a comprehensive study to determine the effectiveness of the Microculture Kinetic (MiCK) assay for apoptosis in predicting the best chemotherapy response for Endometrial Cancer patients. (Journal of Gynecologic Oncology March 2010 Mar)

12 Jul 2010

Genentech submits BLA for trastuzumab-DM1 in advanced HER2-positive breast cancer

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced that the company submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for trastuzumab-DM1 (T-DM1) in people with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer who have previously received multiple HER2-targeted medicines and chemotherapies.

7 Jul 2010

Genentech's second Phase III ICON7 study of Avastin in ovarian cancer meets primary endpoint

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced today that a second large, Phase III, international study showed that the combination of Avastin® (bevacizumab) and chemotherapy, followed by the continued use of Avastin alone, increased the time women with previously untreated ovarian cancer lived without the disease worsening (progression-free survival or PFS, the primary endpoint), compared to chemotherapy alone.

2 Jul 2010

Celgene signs definitive merger agreement to acquire Abraxis BioScience

Celgene Corporation and Abraxis BioScience Inc. today jointly announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement in which Celgene has agreed to acquire Abraxis BioScience. Under the terms of the merger agreement, each share of Abraxis BioScience common stock will be converted into the right to receive an upfront payment of $58.00 in cash and 0.2617 shares of Celgene common stock.

30 Jun 2010

OrbusNeich's Genous Bio-engineered R stent shows safety for percutaneous treatment of coronary artery stenosis

OrbusNeich today announced that six-month clinical follow-up data show the safety and efficacy of the combination of pre-dilatation with a paclitaxel drug-eluting balloon (Sequent Please®, B.Braun) followed by implantation of the company's Genous Bio-engineered R stent for the percutaneous treatment of coronary artery stenosis.

22 Jun 2010

OXiGENE completes enrollment in ZYBRESTAT Phase 2 FALCON trial for NSCLC

OXiGENE, Inc., a clinical-stage, biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics to treat cancer and eye diseases, announced today that it has completed its targeted enrollment of 60 patients in the FALCON trial, a randomized, controlled Phase 2 study of ZYBRESTAT™ in patients with non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

16 Jun 2010

Study aims at determining optimal dose of nab-paclitaxel with carboplatin as first-line therapy for NSCLC

The June edition of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology features a study aimed at determining the optimal dose of the chemotherapy drug nab-paclitaxel with carboplatin as a first-line therapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Results will provide researchers with a data needed to guide a phase 3 trial.

16 Jun 2010

Cook Medical files for PMA of Zilver PTX Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent with FDA

Cook Medical has submitted its Pre-Market Approval (PMA) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the company's unique polymer-free Zilver® PTX® Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent. Intended for use in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in the superficial femoral artery (SFA), Zilver PTX is a self-expanding, highly durable nitinol stent that uses a proprietary, polymer-free technology to deliver a locally therapeutic dose of paclitaxel, an antiproliferative drug, to the target lesion.

11 Jun 2010

Abraxis BioScience presents phase 3 trial data on metastatic malignant melanoma

Abraxis BioScience, Inc. presented trial design information from its ongoing phase 3 registration trial of nanoparticle albumin bound (nab®) driven chemotherapy, nab-paclitaxel (ABRAXANE® for Injectable Suspension; paclitaxel albumin protein-bound particles for injectable suspension), in melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer that affects more than 68,000 people in the U.S. each year.

11 Jun 2010

Boston Scientific's TAXUS Element Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System launched in Europe

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced the market launch and first implants of its TAXUS® Element™ Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System in the European Union and other CE Mark countries. The TAXUS Element Stent System is the Company's third-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) technology and incorporates a platinum chromium alloy with an innovative stent design and an advanced catheter delivery system. It received CE Mark approval last month, which included a specific indication for the treatment of diabetic patients.

10 Jun 2010

Spectranetics plans multi-center, randomized clinical trial program for in-stent restenosis

The Spectranetics Corporation today announced its clinical trial plans related to the treatment of in-stent restenosis (ISR) in arteries above the knee, which remains a major unsolved medical problem. There is no device currently cleared or approved by the FDA to treat ISR.