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Lilly, Merck, Pfizer collaborate to accelerate research on commonly-diagnosed cancer

Eli Lilly and Company, Merck (also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) outside the USA and Canada), and Pfizer Inc. today announced the formation of the Asian Cancer Research Group, Inc., an independent, not-for-profit company established to accelerate research and ultimately improve treatment for patients affected with the most commonly-diagnosed cancers in Asia.

23 Feb 2010

Combining PARP inhibitors with existing cancer drugs promising

Ovarian and breast cancer treatments being developed that mix a protein inhibitor and traditional anticancer drugs are showing signs of success, according to a new review for Faculty of 1000 Biology Reports.

23 Feb 2010

Unique resource for families facing hereditary breast and ovarian cancer

When she was forty-two, Joi Morris learned that she has a genetic mutation on a gene known as BRCA2. This meant that her risk of getting breast cancer could be as high as 84 percent by age seventy, and that her risk for ovarian cancer was also high.

23 Feb 2010

Combination of MRI and mammography reduces mortality rate in high-risk women

Annual breast cancer screening with both mammography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is likely to be a cost-effective way to improve life expectancy in women with an increased risk of breast cancer, according to a new study published in the March issue of Radiology.

23 Feb 2010

Researchers develop new tool to understand how cancer grows

Researchers have a new tool to understand how cancers grow -- and with it a new opportunity to identify novel cancer drugs. They've been able to break apart human prostate tissue, extract the stem cells in that tissue, and alter those cells genetically so that they spur cancer.

22 Feb 2010

Variations among individual organisms attributed to differences in genes, environment or chance

Biologists attribute variations among individual organisms to differences in genes or environment, or both. But a new study of nematode worms with identical genes, raised in identical environments, has revealed another factor: chance.

19 Feb 2010

Cancer genomes: Distinguishing between 'driver' and 'passenger' mutations

A new study of mutations in cancer genomes shows how researchers can begin to distinguish the 'driver' mutations that push cells towards cancer from the 'passenger' mutations that are a by-product of cancer cell development. The study also shows that at least one in nine genes can be removed without killing human cells.

19 Feb 2010

Most genetic abnormalities shared across multiple cancers

An international team of researchers has created a genome-scale map of 26 different cancers, revealing more than 100 genomic sites where DNA from tumors is either missing or abnormally duplicated compared to normal tissues. The study, the largest of its kind, finds that most of these genetic abnormalities are not unique to one form of cancer, but are shared across multiple cancers. The work appears in the February 18 issue of the journal Nature.

19 Feb 2010

RainDance Technologies enters into strategic agreement with Applied Biosystems

RainDance Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of innovative microdroplet-based solutions for human health and disease research, and Applied Biosystems, part of Life Technologies Corporation, announced today they have entered into a strategic agreement to co-market the first solution that combines microdroplet PCR-based sequence enrichment with next-generation sequencing.

19 Feb 2010

Researchers find gene mutations that may provide clues for treating AML patients

Although leukemia is one of the best studied cancers, the cause of some types is still poorly understood. Now, a newly found mutation in acute myeloid leukemia patients could account for half of the remaining cases of adult acute leukemia with an unknown origin.

19 Feb 2010

Poor prescription practices among doctors may increase antibiotic resistance

A new paper in the February 17th edition of the journal Molecular Cell describes how exposure to low levels of antibiotics increases mutations in E. coli and Staphylococcus bacteria hundreds of times more than normal, making the creation of drug-resistant strains more likely.

19 Feb 2010

Scottish scientists identify link between deprivation and breast cancer survival

Scottish scientists have shed light on the connection between deprivation and breast cancer survival, confirming that the link is mirrored at a genetic level.

19 Feb 2010

Phase 3b ODIN study of once-daily PREZISTA in HIV-1 adults presented at CROI 2010

In a new study of treatment-experienced HIV-1-infected adults with no PREZISTA® (darunavir) resistance-associated mutations (RAMs), 72 percent of patients in the PREZISTA/ritonavir (r) (800/100 mg) once-daily arm achieved undetectable viral loads (<50 copies/mL) compared with 71 percent of patients in the PREZISTA/r (600/100 mg) twice-daily arm. The study met its primary objective of non-inferiority. These data from the Phase 3b ODIN study were presented today at CROI 2010, the 17th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, in San Francisco.

18 Feb 2010

Gene study could pave way for novel methods for plagues and other infectious diseases

An international consortium of scientists, including Universitat Aut-noma de Barcelona (UAB) researcher Deodoro Oliveira, have sequenced the genome of three species of parasitoid wasps of the genus Nasonia.

18 Feb 2010

Northern California Cancer Center becomes Cancer Prevention Institute of California

As the only organization in the country dedicated solely to cancer prevention research, the Northern California Cancer Center has changed its name to the Cancer Prevention Institute of California. The new name immediately communicates the organization's critical mission to prevent cancer and reflects its service to the entire state of California.

18 Feb 2010

Roche Molecular Systems, Merck Sharp & Dohme announce cancer therapeutics collaboration

Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. announced today a research collaboration with Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. (a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.) providing Merck access to Roche's developmental microarray-based AmpliChip p53 Test, which is designed to detect mutations in the tumor suppressor gene p53. By identifying cancers that harbor a dysfunctional p53 gene, the companies aim to achieve better treatment outcomes in cancer patients by determining which patients are most likely to respond to certain investigational therapeutic candidates.

18 Feb 2010

Genzyme announces fourth-quarter and full-year 2009 financial results

Genzyme Corp., a diversified, global biotechnology company, today announced fourth-quarter and full year 2009 financial results and provided 2010 guidance that reflects growth across its businesses and a focus on strengthening core areas of the company.

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

Quintiles' anatomic pathology services now available in China to help develop effective cancer treatments

Quintiles today announced the availability of anatomic pathology services through its central laboratory in Beijing, China, to help biopharmaceutical companies develop more effective cancer treatments. These services complement assay development, digital pathology and core lab offerings available through the facility to help customers comply with China’s restrictions on tissue import/export.

17 Feb 2010

Chemists adopt new approach to optimise enzyme for practical applications

Engineers are unlikely to tinker with the cooling system if they want to increase the size of an engine. Yet chemists at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research have adopted an approach similar to this in their efforts to optimise an enzyme for practical applications. They

16 Feb 2010

Mutation News and Research

Lilly, Merck, Pfizer collaborate to accelerate research on commonly-diagnosed cancer

Combining PARP inhibitors with existing cancer drugs promising

Unique resource for families facing hereditary breast and ovarian cancer

Combination of MRI and mammography reduces mortality rate in high-risk women

Researchers develop new tool to understand how cancer grows

Variations among individual organisms attributed to differences in genes, environment or chance

Cancer genomes: Distinguishing between 'driver' and 'passenger' mutations

Most genetic abnormalities shared across multiple cancers

RainDance Technologies enters into strategic agreement with Applied Biosystems

Researchers find gene mutations that may provide clues for treating AML patients

Poor prescription practices among doctors may increase antibiotic resistance

Scottish scientists identify link between deprivation and breast cancer survival

Phase 3b ODIN study of once-daily PREZISTA in HIV-1 adults presented at CROI 2010

Gene study could pave way for novel methods for plagues and other infectious diseases

Northern California Cancer Center becomes Cancer Prevention Institute of California

Roche Molecular Systems, Merck Sharp & Dohme announce cancer therapeutics collaboration

Genzyme announces fourth-quarter and full-year 2009 financial results

Researchers adopt new technique to inhibit cancer growth

Quintiles' anatomic pathology services now available in China to help develop effective cancer treatments

Chemists adopt new approach to optimise enzyme for practical applications

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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