Avastin News and Research

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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).

Global market for oncology drugs is forecast to reach $80 billion by 2050

New Medicine's Oncology KnowledgeBASE (nm/OK) residing at http://nmok.net became available on the Internet 10 years ago and, since then, the oncology field has evolved into one of the most challenging, complex and promising drug development sectors, both in terms of its potential contribution to medicine and to its market opportunities.

29 Jan 2010

BioNumerik Pharmaceuticals commences patient treatment in Tavocept Phase III trial

BioNumerik Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the treatment of the first patients in a global multi-center Phase III clinical trial of Tavocept (BNP7787) in patients with primary adenocarcinoma of the lung, the most common type of lung cancer. In previous studies, Tavocept demonstrated the potential to substantially increase overall and one year patient survival while concurrently preventing and reducing the incidence and severity of common chemotherapy side-effects as compared to other currently available treatments for advanced lung cancer.

21 Jan 2010

Fc engineering enhances antibody half-life

A Nature Biotechnology article published online January 17 reveals that Xencor Inc.’s proprietary Fc engineering extends the half-life of antibodies while maintaining their potency and extending duration of action. These results, published in an article entitled, “Enhanced antibody half-life improves in vivo activity” demonstrate the potential of Fc engineering to impact the flexibility of route, schedule and dose for nearly any antibody.

20 Jan 2010

Merck’s initiation of EMD 1201081-cetuximab combination Phase 2 trial triggers €3.0M milestone payment

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that it has achieved a milestone under its worldwide licensing and collaboration agreement with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. The milestone was achieved upon initiation of a Phase 2 trial by Merck KGaA of EMD 1201081, a novel agonist of Toll-like Receptor 9 (TLR9), in combination with cetuximab (Erbitux®) in second-line cetuximab-naïve patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

20 Jan 2010

Bevacizumab drug shows promise to slow tumor growth in lung cancer patients

Phase II study results of the agent ASA404 showed promise in patients with either squamous or non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

13 Jan 2010

Positive results from Alimera Sciences' Iluvien FAME trial for DME

Alimera Sciences, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company that specializes in the research, development and commercialization of prescription ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, today reported top-line results from the month 24 readout of the FAME Study.

23 Dec 2009

Researchers follow steps that lead some tumor cells to establish metastases

Up to 25% of cancer patients develop metastases in the brain - often long after successful treatment of the primary tumor. In almost all such cases, the prognosis is poor. The mechanisms responsible for the appearance of brain metastases have long been mysterious.

21 Dec 2009

Cost of Avastin a deterrent for non-small-cell lung cancer treatment

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that the cost of Roche/Chugai's Avastin, followed by concerns about its efficacy and side-effect profile, are cited most frequently by surveyed oncologists as the factors preventing their use of Avastin for non-small-cell lung cancer treatment in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

18 Dec 2009

Arno Therapeutics announces dosing of first patient in Phase II clinical study of AR-67

Arno Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing oncology therapeutics, today announced the dosing of the first patient in a Phase II clinical study of its third-generation camptothecin compound, AR-67, in patients with Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), an aggressive form of brain cancer.

17 Dec 2009

JCTM established to advance new research toward clinical applications

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have announced the establishment of the Joint Center for Translational Medicine (JCTM), which will advance experimental research into clinical applications, including the diagnosis and therapy of diseases such as cancer.

17 Dec 2009

Patients involved in Novelos Therapeutics' pivotal Phase III trial live longer than expected

BioMedReports.Com, the news portal which covers Wall Street's biomedical sector and delivers financial and investment intelligence to a community of highly informed investors, has published an exclusive interview with the CEO of Novelos Therapeutics, Inc., Harry S. Palmin.

16 Dec 2009

Avastin may lose significant patient share to Sanofi-Aventis' BSI-201, according to report

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that an overall survival benefit would be the most influential factor for three-quarters of surveyed European oncologists in their decision to prescribe a novel agent ahead of Avastin for the treatment of breast cancer.

16 Dec 2009

Study compares status of health care systems in U.S. and UK

The well-worn notion that patients in the United States have unfettered access to the most expensive cancer drugs while the United Kingdom's nationalized health care system regularly denies access to some high-cost treatments needs rethinking, a team of bioethicists and health policy experts says in a report out today.

15 Dec 2009

Genentech announces Phase III study of Avastin in women treated with chemotherapy for advanced breast cancer

Genentech, Inc., a wholly owned member of the Roche Group, today announced results from a Phase III study (RIBBON 2) of Avastin® (bevacizumab) in women who had previously been treated with initial (first-line) chemotherapy for advanced HER2-negative breast cancer and needed additional (second-line) treatment.

14 Dec 2009

Second-quarter fiscal 2010 results announced by Peregrine Pharmaceuticals

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2010 ended October 31, 2009. Total revenue for the second quarter of FY 2010 increased 255% to $6,896,000, compared to $1,941,000 for the comparable prior year quarter.

10 Dec 2009

Updated NCCN Guidelines include maintenance therapy for patients with metastatic disease

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recently updated the NCCN Guidelines for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) to incorporate a new section about maintenance therapy, a number of new indications for specific therapies for advanced NSCLC, and the recently revised staging system for lung cancer.

10 Dec 2009

Roche to present data on its Herceptin, Avastin and T-DM1 studies at CTRC-AACR Symposium

Roche announced today that new 5 year follow-up data from two pivotal studies with Herceptin(R) (trastuzumab) in early breast cancer; key results from a study of Avastin(R) (bevacizumab) in the second-line treatment of advanced breast cancer and strong data on the use of trastuzumab-DM1 (T-DM1), the first antibody-drug conjugate in development for very advanced HER2-positive breast cancer, will all be presented during the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) from 9 to 13 December 2009.

9 Dec 2009

Erbitux gaining market share of Avastin in Europe

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that, despite its dominance in early lines of metastatic colorectal cancer treatment, Roche/Chugai's Avastin will face increasing competition from Bristol-Myers Squibb/Eli Lilly/Merck KGaA's Erbitux in Germany, France and Spain.

8 Dec 2009

CT imaging combined with Avastin may predict overall survival in metastatic colorectal cancer

Using routine computed tomography (CT) imaging to analyze form and structural changes to colorectal liver metastasis after bevacizumab and chemotherapy may predict overall survival, according to research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

2 Dec 2009

CCAC congratulates the Ontario government for expanding access to Avastin

The Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada (CCAC) applauds the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care's decision today to provide expanded access of Avastin (bevacizumab) to patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

30 Nov 2009