Asparaginase News and Research

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Asparaginase is a drug which is given at the same time as chemotherapy drugs. It is an enzyme which deprives leukaemia cells of essential nutrients so that they die.

Drug shortages can be exacerbated by COVID-19 pandemic

A new paper published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society examines the nation's current shortage of vitally needed medications, and how this dangerous situation is being made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.

11 Jun 2020

Research could open up new therapeutic strategies for some lung and kidney cancers

New findings from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center about how some cancer cells become "addicted" to glucose could open up fresh approaches to therapy strategies for cancers with high levels of an amino acid transporter called solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11).

30 Mar 2020

New drug combo may improve pancreatic cancer therapy

A new study by scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have discovered a combination of two cancer-fighting drugs that successfully worked on pancreatic tumor in mice, shrinking them significantly, and paving the way for a speedy clinical trial designed to test their efficacy in humans.

18 Nov 2019

Reducing acrylamide in fried and baked snacks

In 2002, the discovery of acrylamide in certain snacks rattled consumers and the food industry. Acrylamide, a probable human carcinogen, forms by a chemical reaction during baking or frying.

11 Sep 2019

Research sheds light on how leukemia cells become resistant to drugs

Three children Alejandro Gutierrez, MD, treated for leukemia during his fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital still haunt him more than a decade later.

17 Apr 2019

Discovery of weakness in a rare cancer could be exploited with drugs

Cancer cells are, in some respects, impressive: They can grow relentlessly, sidestep the aging process by becoming immortal, and evade the immune system's persistent attacks. But in the process of acquiring such superpowers, the cells must occasionally relinquish other, more mundane skills--including the ability to produce certain nutrients.

15 Feb 2019

Certain foods may assist spread of breast cancer

Researchers from Cambridge have come up with a new study that shows that some foods may influence the spread of certain cancers. Asparagine for example is a nutrient present in asparagus. If this nutrient is absent, the growth of breast cancer can be slowed, they note. The results of the study are published in the latest issue of the journal Nature.

8 Feb 2018

Scientists find way to reduce breast cancer spread

Scientists have discovered that an amino acid called asparagine is essential for breast cancer spread, and by restricting it, cancer cells stopped invading other parts of the body in mice, according to research part-funded by Cancer Research UK and published in the journal Nature today, (Wednesday).

7 Feb 2018

Russian scientists uncover previously unknown effect of leukemia drug

Researchers from RUDN University and Institute of Biomedical Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences have identified an alternative mechanism for the effective antitumor drug -- an enzyme called L-asparaginase.

10 Nov 2017

ERYTECH partners with Queen’s University to advance its product candidate for treating arginase-1 deficiency

ERYTECH Pharma, a French clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies for rare forms of cancer and orphan diseases, today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration with Queen's University in Canada to advance the preclinical development of ERYTECH's eryminase program specifically for the treatment of arginase-1 deficiency, a rare and severe metabolic disorder related to arginine metabolism.

12 Jul 2017

Enzyme identified in baker's yeast can efficiently annihilate leukemia cells

An enzyme identified in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, commonly known as brewer's or baker's yeast, has passed in vitro trials, demonstrating its capacity to kill acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells.

18 Jan 2017

Study identifies risk factors for asparaginase-induced pancreatitis in ALL patients

Researchers have identified a rare genetic variation associated with a dramatically increased risk of severe acute pancreatitis in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients treated with the chemotherapy agent asparaginase. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital led the study, which appears today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

26 Apr 2016

Novel biochemical method can extend lifetime of implantable medical devices

Blood-contacting implantable medical devices, such as stents, heart valves, ventricular assist devices, and extracorporeal support systems, as well as vascular grafts and access catheters, are used worldwide to improve patients' lives. However, these devices are prone to failure due to the body's responses at the blood-material interface; clots can form and inflammatory reactions can prevent the device from performing as indicated. Currently, when this occurs, the only solution is to replace the device.

13 Apr 2016

Pediatric chemotherapy regimen improves outcomes in young adults with ALL

Using a pediatric chemotherapy regimen to treat young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) significantly improved their outcomes compared to what has historically been achieved with 'adult' treatment protocols, report Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists.

8 Dec 2015

Intravenous PEG-asparaginase use recommended in paediatric ALL

Phase III trial results support the use of intravenously administered PEGylated Escherichia coli asparaginase as the preparation of choice in children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

11 Nov 2015

Jazz enrolls first patients in JZP-110 Phase 3 study for treatment of EDS in patients with narcolepsy or OSA

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc announced today that the first patients have been enrolled in a Phase 3 clinical development program evaluating the safety and efficacy of its investigational drug candidate, JZP-110, as a wake-promoting agent in the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in adult patients with narcolepsy or with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

8 Jun 2015

Researchers submit patent application for drug that could destroy acute lymphoblastic leukemia

A patent application for a drug that could destroy the deadly childhood disease known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia — and potentially other cancers as well — has been submitted by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories, the University of Maryland and the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

14 May 2015

Jazz Pharmaceuticals to present defibrotide results for hepatic VOD at BMT Tandem meetings

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc announced today that researchers will present data on the use of defibrotide, an investigational medicine being studied in the United States (U.S.) for the treatment of hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD), a rare, potentially life-threatening, early complication in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) therapy.

13 Feb 2015

FDA approves intravenous administration of Erwinaze (asparaginase Erwinia chrysanthemi)

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the intravenous administration of Erwinaze (asparaginase Erwinia chrysanthemi). Erwinaze is indicated as a component of a multi-agent chemotherapeutic regimen for the treatment of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who have developed hypersensitivity to E. coli-derived asparaginase.

19 Dec 2014

Comb-shaped polymers efficiently protect proteins in vivo

An enzyme that usually triggers strong allergic reactions now circulates in the veins of a group of mice without alerting the immune system. As INRS Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre Professor Marc A. Gauthier explains in an article published in the journal Nature Communications, a polymer was used to camouflage the enzyme before it was injected into the rodents. This was achieved by coating the enzyme to avoid an immune response in a manner that does not compromise its activity.

6 Dec 2014