Thalidomide News and Research

RSS

Thalidomide is a drug that is used to treat multiple myeloma in patients who have just been diagnosed, and a painful skin disease related to leprosy. It is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer. Thalidomide belongs to the family of drugs called angiogenesis inhibitors. Also called Thalomid.

Study results comparing REVLIMID regimen to stem cell transplant in multiple myeloma patients

Celgene International Sàrl announced clinical data from an investigational study of patients with multiple myeloma who were younger than 65 years old and received either REVLIMID (lenalidomide), melphalan and prednisone (MPR) or melphalan plus autologous stem cell transplant (MEL200) following an induction treatment of REVLIMID plus low-dose dexamethasone (Rd) were presented during the 51st American Society of Hematology’s annual meeting in New Orleans, LA.

8 Dec 2009

Carfilzomib shows noteworthy responses and low side effects among multiple myeloma patients

The second-generation proteasome inhibitor carfilzomib is showing noteworthy response rates and low levels of adverse side effects among multiple myeloma patients in a phase II clinical trial, researchers reported today at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

8 Dec 2009

Study data of Perifosine + Bortezomib combination in multiple myeloma patients presented

Æterna Zentaris Inc., a global biopharmaceutical company focused on endocrine therapy and oncology, today announced that its partner Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. reported updated efficacy and safety data as well as new survival data on the clinical activity of perifosine (KRX-0401) in combination with bortezomib (Velcade(R)) (+/- dexamethasone) in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

7 Dec 2009

Researchers explore optimal induction therapies for managing blood cancer

There have been significant scientific advances in the field of blood cancers, and leading experts continue to gain a better understanding of how certain diseases progress in order to discover new treatment options and provide patients with the best care.

7 Dec 2009

VELCADE based regimens are cost-effective for payers and patients, finds study

Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company today announced that two studies presented at the 51st American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting found that VELCADE based regimens are more cost-effective for payers and reduced out-of-pocket costs for patients than other commonly used multiple myeloma treatments.

7 Dec 2009

Clavis Pharma signs drug development and commercialisation agreement with Clovis Oncology

Clavis Pharma ASA, the clinical stage oncology focused pharmaceutical company, and Clovis Oncology, Inc., the newly formed oncology company led by former Pharmion Corporation executives, announced today an agreement for the further development and commercialisation of the Clavis Pharma drug candidate, CP-4126, currently in Phase II development in pancreatic cancer.

24 Nov 2009

Scientists solve 50-year-old thalidomide puzzle

Research into the controversial drug thalidomide reveals that the mechanism through which the drug causes limb defects is the same process which causes it to damage internal organs and other tissues. The article, published in Bio-Essays, outlines the challenges surrounding thalidomide research and claims that confirmation of a 'common mechanism' could lead to new treatments for Leprosy, Crohn's Disease, AIDS and some forms of cancer..

17 Nov 2009

Celgene announces fiscal 2009 third-quarter results

Celgene Corporation announced non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) net income of $259.8 million, or non-GAAP earnings per diluted share of $0.56 for the quarter ended September 30, 2009. Non-GAAP net income for the third quarter of 2008 was $185.9 million, or non-GAAP earnings per diluted share of $0.40.

22 Oct 2009

Molecules wrestle for supremacy to dictate the physical state of superstructures

Research at the University of Liverpool has found how mirror-image molecules gain control over each other and dictate the physical state of superstructures.

13 Aug 2009

Thalidomide does not improve survival in small cell lung cancer

Treating patients with thalidomide in combination with chemotherapy for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) did not improve their survival but did increase their risk of blood clots, according to a new study published online July 16 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

17 Jul 2009

Separating the good from the bad

Scientists at MIT and Brown University studying how marine bacteria move recently discovered that a sharp variation in water current segregates right-handed bacteria from their left-handed brethren, impelling the microbes in opposite directions.

15 Apr 2009

Is human ‘imperfection’ such a bad thing?

Imagine a world of 'human perfection' where disabled people are a distant memory, edited out by medical enhancement and economic cost-benefit analysis: a world where thanks to generic selection and economic crises disabled people find themselves expendable.

19 Jan 2009

Lessons from Northwick Park drug-trial disaster

Scientists investigating the 2006 Northwick Park drug-trial disaster that left six healthy volunteers hospitalised say they have developed new pre-clinical tests that could have stopped the trial from ever going ahead.

From The University of Manchester 15 Dec 2008

$Proteolix announces positive data for carfilzomib in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma$

Proteolix announces positive data for carfilzomib in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma

Proteolix, Inc. today announced positive clinical data demonstrating that the company's lead product, carfilzomib, has single-agent activity and promotes durable responses in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma.

10 Dec 2008

Controlling the building blocks of life

A simple and reliable method for converting one of the simplest chemical entities into one of the most difficult-to-make molecular building blocks of life, with complete control over its shape, is reported by scientists at the University of Bristol in this week's Nature.

10 Dec 2008

New data on ZOLINZA (vorinostat) in combination with Bortezomib

Results from two Phase 1 studies of ZOLINZA (vorinostat), Merck's oral histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, administered in combination with bortezomib, showed early anti-tumor activity in patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma, including those previously treated with and no longer responding to bortezomib.

10 Dec 2008

Drug combo improves or stabilizes disease for relapsed multiple myeloma patients

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that a new combination of medications designed to maximize immune functions improved or stabilized multiple myeloma for 76 percent of patients who had relapsed after previous treatment.

10 Dec 2008

FDA deadlines may compromise drug safety by rushing approval

Many medications are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the brink of congressionally mandated deadlines, and those drugs are more likely to face later regulatory intervention than those approved with greater deliberation, researchers at Harvard University have found.

28 Mar 2008

Thalidomide shows promise for treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer

Thalidomide, a drug blamed in the 1950s for causing birth defects, is now showing promise as a safe and effective treatment for women with recurrent ovarian cancer, according to a study led by a University of Minnesota Cancer Center researcher.

28 Feb 2008

New way to grow blood vessels

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have found a previously unknown molecular pathway in mice that spurs the growth of new blood vessels when body parts are jeopardized by poor circulation.

21 Feb 2008