Avastin News and Research

RSS

Avastin is a biologic antibody designed to specifically bind to a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) that plays an important role throughout the lifecycle of the tumor to develop and maintain blood vessels, a process known as angiogenesis. Avastin is designed to interfere with the blood supply to a tumor by directly binding to the VEGF protein to prevent interactions with receptors on blood vessel cells. Avastin does not bind to receptors on normal or cancer cells. The tumor blood supply is thought to be critical to a tumor’s ability to grow and spread in the body (metastasize).

FAMEDS founder condemns FDA decision on Avastin for metastatic breast cancer

Breast cancer patients, their families and advocates expressed extreme disappointment at today's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision to remove the anti-cancer drug Avastin from the approved medication list for treatment of late stage breast cancer.

19 Nov 2011

FDA revokes approval of Avastin for breast cancer

The commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration on Friday revoked the approval of the drug Avastin as a treatment for breast cancer, ruling in an emotional issue that pitted the hopes of some desperate patients against the statistics of clinical trials.

19 Nov 2011

FDA Commissioner revokes approval of Genentech's Avastin for treatment of mBC

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced today that the FDA Commissioner is revoking the approval of Avastin (bevacizumab) for the treatment of mBC in the United States.

18 Nov 2011

Idera third quarter net loss increases to $5.5 million

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011. Idera is a biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of DNA- and RNA-based drug candidates targeted to Toll-like receptors (TLRs).

9 Nov 2011

Celldex third quarter net loss increases to $11.8 million

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. today reported financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2011. Celldex reported a net loss of $11.8 million, or $0.27 per share, for the third quarter of 2011 compared to a net loss of $9.1 million, or $0.28 per share, for the third quarter of 2010.

2 Nov 2011

Vegenics receives IND approval from FDA for VGX-100 Phase I study in late stage cancers

Circadian Technologies Limited announces that its 100% owned subsidiary, Vegenics Pty Ltd, has received approval for its investigational new drug application from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to initiate clinical trials of VGX-100.

31 Oct 2011

'Heroes of Hope Race for Brain Tumor Research' event to be held on Nov. 6

Veronica Cappalonga, 28, knows a lot about living with cancer. Diagnosed at age 6 with leukemia and at 22 with a malignant brain tumor, the Los Angeles (Mar Vista area) resident will walk in the Nov. 6 Heroes of Hope Race for Brain Tumor Research - not only to help fundraise, but also to show that survivors can fight these diseases with dignity.

29 Oct 2011

Mesoblast cleared to begin first phase 2 clinical trial for wet AMD

Regenerative medicine company Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB) today announced that it has received regulatory clearance from the Singapore Health Sciences Authority (HSA) to commence the first Phase 2 trial of its proprietary allogeneic (off-the-shelf) adult stem cell therapy for patients with proliferation of leaky blood vessels in the eyes – neovascular (“wet”) Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

24 Oct 2011

Mesoblast receives Singapore HSA regulatory clearance to begin wet AMD Phase 2 trial

Regenerative medicine company Mesoblast Limited today announced that it has received regulatory clearance from the Singapore Health Sciences Authority (HSA) to commence the first Phase 2 trial of its proprietary allogeneic (off-the-shelf) adult stem cell therapy for patients with proliferation of leaky blood vessels in the eyes – neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration.

24 Oct 2011

Roundup: Calif. insurer's Avastin decision; Kansas dental care; Gov. Brown vetoes nursing bill

Blue Shield of California will stop covering new Avastin prescriptions for breast cancer patients starting Oct. 17. Patients already on the drug will still be covered, and exceptions could be made for individual cases reviewed by a panel of cancer experts. The not-for-profit insurer cited an unprecedented vote by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel that found the drug was not effective enough against breast cancer to risk its potentially dangerous side effects.

12 Oct 2011

Blue Shield of California refuses to pay for breast cancer drug Avastin

In a new development, health insurer Blue Shield of California has decided not to pay for Roche Holding's drug Avastin to treat breast cancer after health advisers said it was not safe or clinically beneficial. Blue Shield of California with around 3.3 million members, said in a notice posted on its web site that the drug would no longer be covered as a treatment for metastatic breast cancer beginning October 17. It said exceptions may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

4 Oct 2011

Roundup: Blue Shield of Calif. drops coverage of controversial drug in breast cancer treatment; Perry presses stem cell therapy

Blue Shield of California will no longer pay for the use of the drug Avastin to treat breast cancer, a sign that support for the widely debated and expensive treatment may be eroding among health plans.

4 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 3, 2011

Today's headlines include stories previewing how health policy issues will fit into the Supreme Court's new term.

3 Oct 2011

Circadian subsidiary submits IND application to FDA to initiate VGX-100 study against cancer

Circadian Technologies Limited is extremely proud to announce that its 100% owned subsidiary, Vegenics Pty Ltd, has submitted an investigational new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to initiate clinical studies of VGX-100.

1 Oct 2011

Circadian files IND with FDA for VGX-100 for the treatment of cancer patients with solid tumors

Circadian Technologies Limited (ASX: CIR, OTCQX:CKDXY) is extremely proud to announce that its 100% owned subsidiary, Vegenics Pty Ltd, has submitted an investigational new drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate clinical studies of VGX-100. The first trial (Phase I) will involve the treatment of a variety of different cancer types in patients with late stage cancer.

29 Sep 2011

Avastin increases tumor response rates in breast cancer patients before surgery

Amid the controversy surrounding the Food and Drug Administration's ruling that Avastin should no longer be used to treat metastatic breast cancer, a new multinational Phase III clinical trial shows that Avastin significantly increased tumor response rates in breast cancer patients when given before surgery.

24 Aug 2011

Celldex second quarter net loss increases to $10.2 million

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011. Celldex reported a net loss of $10.2 million, or $0.27 per share, for the second quarter of 2011 compared to a net loss of $9.5 million, or $0.30 per share, for the second quarter of 2010.

3 Aug 2011

Recruitment complete in Aeterna Zentaris' perifosine Phase 3 trial for advanced colorectal cancer

Aeterna Zentaris Inc. today announced the completion of patient recruitment for the ongoing Phase 3 trial with perifosine in refractory advanced colorectal cancer.

27 Jul 2011

Threshold reports initiation of TH-302 and bevacizumab clinical trial for astrocytoma

Threshold Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that the University of Texas at San Antonio initiated a clinical trial of TH-302 in combination with bevacizumab in patients with recurrent high grade astrocytoma including glioblastoma.

25 Jul 2011

NCCN experts recommend bevacizumab for treating metastatic breast cancer

The Expert Breast Cancer Panel of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) met July 10-12, 2011 in Philadelphia, PA. At the meeting, the multidisciplinary breast cancer experts voted in favor of maintaining the current position and recommendation in the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for Breast Cancer on the use of bevacizumab in metastatic breast cancer.

20 Jul 2011