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.

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

Jazz Pharmaceuticals offers $500 million aggregate principal amount of exchangeable senior notes

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc today announced that Jazz Investments I Limited, its wholly-owned subsidiary, priced its previously announced offering of $500 million aggregate principal amount of exchangeable senior notes due 2021.

8 Aug 2014

Sigma-Tau Rare Disease seeks EMA approval for use of Oncaspar for ALL treatment

Sigma Tau Pharma Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Sigma-Tau Rare Disease), today announced the submission of an application to the European Medicines Agency for use of its pegylatedL-asparaginase, Oncaspar (pegaspargase) for the treatment of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) as part of a multi-agent chemotherapeutic regimen.

10 Jul 2014

Jazz Pharmaceuticals' JZP-110 improves symptoms of EDS in adults with narcolepsy

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc today presented data from the Phase 2b study evaluating JZP-110 (formerly known as ADX-N05) as a potential new treatment for the symptoms of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in adults with narcolepsy.

3 Jun 2014

ERYTECH Pharma gets authorization to initiate Phase II study in pancreatic cancer

ERYTECH Pharma, a French biopharmaceutical company that develops innovative treatments for acute leukemia and other oncology indications with unmet medical needs, announces that the ANSM, French healthcare agency, has granted the authorization to start a Phase II study in second line treatment of patients affected by pancreatic cancer.

6 May 2014

FDA grants orphan drug designation to ERYTECH’s lead product for AML treatment

ERYTECH Pharma, a French biopharmaceutical company that develops innovative treatments for acute leukemia and other oncology indications with unmet medical needs, announces that its lead product GRASPA®/ERY-ASP has been granted Orphan Drug Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), an aggressive form of blood cancer.

2 Apr 2014

Jazz Pharmaceuticals' Versacloz now commercially available in the U.S. for schizophrenia

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc today announced U.S. commercial availability of Versacloz (clozapine, USP) oral suspension, the first and only oral suspension clozapine for severely ill treatment-resistant schizophrenia patients or those at risk of recurrent suicidal behavior with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

11 Feb 2014

Scientists discover novel mechanism that influences GAS virulence at early steps of necrotizing fasciitis

How does Streptococcus pyogenes, or Group A streptococcus (GAS) — a bacterial pathogen that can colonize humans without causing symptoms or can lead to mild infections — also cause life-threatening diseases such as necrotizing fasciitis (commonly known as flesh-eating disease) and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome?

21 Jan 2014

Research may lead to potential treatment for deadly bacterial infections

Collaboration between the National University of Singapore (NUS) and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJ) on inflammation research may lead to a potential treatment for deadly bacterial infections

20 Jan 2014

Research opens way to possible new treatments for bacterial infections

How does Streptococcus pyogenes, or Group A streptococcus (GAS) - a bacterial pathogen that can colonize humans without causing symptoms or can lead to mild infections - also cause life-threatening diseases such as necrotizing fasciitis (commonly known as flesh-eating disease) and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome?

17 Jan 2014

ERYTECH proposes to broaden lead product in solid tumors, begins Phase II study in pancreatic cancer

ERYTECH Pharma (Euronext Paris: FR0011471135 - ERYP), a French biopharmaceutical company that develops innovative treatments for acute leukemia and other oncology indications with unmet medical needs, provides an update on its development plans to broaden the scope of its lead product ERYASP into the large field of solid tumors and announces the launch of a Phase II study in pancreatic cancer.

7 Jan 2014

Study shows children with ALL can safely receive intravenous infusions of chemotherapy

Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of pediatric cancer, can safely receive intravenous infusions of a reformulated mainstay of chemotherapy that has been delivered via painful intramuscular injection for more than 40 years, research suggests.

11 Dec 2013