Growth Factor News and Research

RSS

Comprehensive development strategy yields two potential drugs that block cancer-promoting pathways

A comprehensive drug development strategy that starts with extensive screening of potential targeting agents and then narrows down to a small-molecule prototype has yielded two potential drugs that block cancer-promoting pathways in novel ways, a team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in two papers published back-to-back online at the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.

26 Feb 2010

CPF to partner with ATS to fund Pulmonary Fibrosis research

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis and the American Thoracic Society, the world's leading professional organization for pulmonary, critical care and sleep physicians, today announced that the CPF will again partner with the ATS to fund Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) research.

26 Feb 2010

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals commences dosing in MM-121/Tarceva combination Phase 1/2 study for NSCLC

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the first patient has received an initial dose in a Phase 1/2 clinical study combining MM-121 with Tarceva® (erlotinib) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This is the first of multiple trials that Merrimack and sanofi-aventis expect to initiate in 2010 as part of a broad Phase 2 clinical development program for MM-121.

23 Feb 2010

Research shows natural compound in marine sponges reduces cancer cell motility

Investigators at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham, formerly Burnham Institute for Medical Research) led by Kristiina Vuori, M.D., Ph.D., have discovered that the natural compound sceptrin, which is found in marine sponges, reduces cancer cell motility (movement) and has very low toxicity.

19 Feb 2010

ATM tumor-suppressor also recognizes damage caused by ROS and orders autophagy

ATM, a protein that reacts to DNA damage by ordering repairs or the suicide of the defective cell, plays a similar, previously unknown role in response to oxidative damage outside of the nucleus, researchers report this week in the online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

19 Feb 2010

Phase 2 study results: VEGF Trap-Eye improves vision in patients with DME

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Bayer HealthCare AG announced that VEGF Trap-Eye showed positive results in a Phase 2 study in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME).

18 Feb 2010

Researchers discover new prognosis marker for prostate cancer

Measuring levels of the active form of the protein EGFR in the tumor and its vicinity can provide a more reliable prognosis for individuals with prostate cancer.

18 Feb 2010

Researchers adopt new technique to inhibit cancer growth

One of the difficulties of fighting cancer is that drugs often hit other non-cancerous cells, causing patients to get sick. But what if researchers could sneak cancer-fighting particles into just the cancer cells?

17 Feb 2010

New research report on orthopedic biomaterials market in the U.S.

According to a new global report series by iData Research (www.idataresearch.net), the leading authority in medical device, dental and pharmaceutical market research, the U.S. market for orthopedic biomaterials grew by 11.5% in 2009 and is estimated to reach almost $6.3 billion by 2016.

17 Feb 2010

Clive Svendsen to receive American Academy of Neurology Sheila Essey Award for his research on ALS

Clive Svendsen, Ph.D., director of the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute, is receiving the American Academy of Neurology Sheila Essey Award for his research on ALS (amyothrophic lateral sclerosis).

16 Feb 2010

SRC-3 gene sends signal to cell membrane to promote cell motility

The master gene called SRC-3 (steroid receptor coactivator 3) not only enhances estrogen-dependent growth of cancer cells by activating and encouraging the transcription of a genetic message into a protein, it also sends a signal to the cell membrane to promote cell motility or movement - a key element of cancer spread or metastasis, said Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) researchers and collaborators in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Molecular Cell.

15 Feb 2010

Researchers discover Dab2 protein that switches on EMT process

Reporting in Nature Cell Biology, researchers describe the discovery of a specific protein called disabled-2 (Dab2) that switches on the process that releases cancer cells from the original tumor and allows the cells to spread and develop into new tumors in other parts of the body.

15 Feb 2010

Researchers find differences in the biology of lung cancer between men and women

An analysis of genetic and clinical data for nearly 800 patients with non-small cell lung cancer has identified differences in genetic characteristics that are associated with age and sex specific patterns of increased or decreased recurrence-free survival, according to a study in the February 10 issue of JAMA.

10 Feb 2010

QIAGEN acquires global licence for PI3K gene to develop real-time-PCR and endpoint PCR assays

QIAGEN today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary DxS has acquired the global and exclusive licence for biomarker PI3K from Johns Hopkins University to develop real-time-PCR and endpoint PCR assays.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 8 Feb 2010

Study suggests molecules and pathways in mood regulation and circadian rhythms are intertwined

Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have discovered unexpected properties for a precursor to melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep cycles.

5 Feb 2010

Pfizer, DxS sign agreement to develop a diagnostic test kit for CDX-110 to treat patients with GBM

Pfizer Inc. and DxS (a wholly owned subsidiary of QIAGEN N.V.) today announced that they have entered into an agreement to develop a companion diagnostic test kit for PF-04948568 (CDX-110), an immunotherapy vaccine in development for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

5 Feb 2010

Results from three phase two studies show the effectiveness of Tanezumab

Tanezumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets nerve-growth factor, reduced pain in three common pain conditions, according to the results from three phase two studies presented today in a single poster at the American Academy of Pain Medicine's 26th Annual Meeting.

4 Feb 2010

Nanotope’s bioactive nanofiber system promotes cartilage regeneration

Arrowhead Research Corporation today announced publication in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) of a study using Nanotope’s lead compound for cartilage regeneration. The study’s authors, which include Nanotope co-founder Dr. Samuel Stupp, showed that Nanotope’s bioactive nanofiber system promotes the growth of new cartilage in a rabbit model. The treatment is engineered to repair cartilage defects by working with an animal’s own bone marrow stem cells to stimulate the production of new natural cartilage.

3 Feb 2010

Nanotope publishes preclinical data demonstrating cartilage regeneration

Arrowhead Research Corporation has announced publication in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) of a study using Nanotope's lead compound for cartilage regeneration.

3 Feb 2010

Research suggests growth factor gene plays a central role in palate development

Cleft palate has been linked to dozens of genes. During their investigation of one of these genes, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis were surprised to find that cleft palate occurs both when the gene is more active and when it is less active than normal.

3 Feb 2010