Rapamycin News and Research

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Rapamycin is a drug used to prevent the rejection of organ and bone marrow transplants by the body. Rapamycin is an antibiotic that blocks a protein involved in cell division and inhibits the growth and function of certain T cells of the immune system involved in the body's rejection of foreign tissues and organs. It is a type of immunosuppressant and a type of serine/threonine kinase inhibitor. Rapamycin is now called sirolimus.

Researchers discover how mTOR protein leads to cancer metastasis

Uncovering the network of genes regulated by a crucial molecule involved in cancer called mTOR, which controls protein production inside cells, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have discovered how a protein "master regulator" goes awry, leading to metastasis, the fatal step of cancer.

23 Feb 2012

Autism Speaks announces 47 new ASD research grants

Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization, today announced the awarding of 47 new research grants totaling $13,242,279 in funding over the next three years.

22 Dec 2011

Takeda enters agreement to acquire Intellikine

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and Intellikine, Inc. today announced that Takeda America Holdings, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takeda, and Intellikine, a privately-held company focused on the discovery and development of innovative, small molecule drugs, have entered into an agreement for Takeda America Holdings to acquire Intellikine by cash.

21 Dec 2011

GeneKey launches personalized medicine service for cancer patients

GeneKey Corp., announced today that it has launched a personalized medicine service that empowers cancer patients and their oncology teams to develop treatment strategies based on insight into the biology of individual tumors.

15 Dec 2011

Autism linked with disorganized structure of brain's white matter

It's still unclear what's different in the brains of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), but evidence from genetic and cell studies points to abnormalities in how brain cells (neurons) connect to each other. A study at Children's Hospital Boston now provides visual evidence associating autism with a disorganized structure of brain connections, as well as defects in myelin -- the fatty, insulating coating that helps nerve fibers conduct signals and that makes up the brain's white matter.

6 Dec 2011

Combination treatment improves progression-free survival in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

Combination treatment with everolimus, an inhibitor of the mammalian target rapamycin (mTOR), and octreotide has shown to improve progression-free survival for patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors and a history of carcinoid syndrome, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

30 Nov 2011

Svelte initiates Rapamycin-eluting stent with bio-Eroding Carrier Technology implantation study

Svelte Medical Systems today announced treatment of the first patient in the DIRECT (Direct-on-a-wire Implantation of Rapamycin-eluting stent with bio-Eroding Carrier Technology) study at Auckland City Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand.

9 Nov 2011

Infinity third quarter total revenue increases marginally to $23.3 million

Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today highlighted its recent clinical and business progress and announced its third quarter 2011 financial results.

9 Nov 2011

Study uncovers mTOR's complex signaling pathway

Even yeast understand austerity. A finely tuned system evolved early on to help cells survive in a world where good times come as fast as they go. The system, a molecular switch found in organisms from yeast to humans, involves a nutrient-sensing protein that turns growth on in times of plenty and shuts it off when times are lean.

29 Oct 2011

Researchers identify cancer cell cycle-regulated mechanism

Researchers from the NYU Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated cancer center at NYU Langone Medical Center, have identified a cell cycle-regulated mechanism behind the transformation of normal cells into cancerous cells.

22 Oct 2011

Biotica, Buck Institute collaborate to investigate polyketides in diseases of aging

The Buck Institute for Research on Aging and Biotica Technology Ltd. today announced a three-year collaboration to investigate polyketides in diseases of aging. Building on observations that rapamycin extends healthy lifespan in various species, the collaborators will evaluate rapamycin analogs and other polyketides in a broad range of age-related disease models to identify novel therapeutics.

14 Sep 2011

New drug combination may treat two aggressive cancers

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have identified a new combination of targeted therapies that, together, may treat two aggressive tumor types that until now have not had effective treatments. These findings are published in Cancer Cell on September 13, 2011.

13 Sep 2011

EC grants orphan drug status for Santen's sirolimus to treat chronic non-infectious uveitis

Santen Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of global ophthalmic pharmaceutical company Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. today announced the European Commission (EC) has granted orphan drug status for sirolimus (DE-109) for the treatment of chronic non-infectious uveitis.

From Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. 8 Sep 2011

Specific inhibitor of microRNA-100 can stimulate development of new blood vessels

A specific inhibitor of the small regulatory RNA-molecule "microRNA-100" can be used to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels, if a major artery is chronically occluded.

29 Aug 2011

Biotica acquires full rights to rapamycin analogue program from Pfizer

Biotica Technology Ltd. today announced that it has regained full rights from Pfizer Inc. to its rapamycin analogue program, including transfer of data and materials.

3 Aug 2011

Pill for rare ageing disease on the horizon

Scientists have found that a drug used in transplant patients could reverse the effects of premature ageing and extend human life by over 10 years.

1 Jul 2011

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated liver disease after liver transplantation

Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated liver disease continues to be the most common indication for liver transplantation (LT) in the United States accounting for nearly 50% of all liver transplants. Recurrence is universal in patients viremic at the time of transplantation with histological hepatitis developing in the majority of patients. Although the natural history of recurrent HCV is difficult to predict, it is widely accepted that cirrhosis from recurrent HCV occurs in up to 30% of patients within five years of transplantation.

8 Jun 2011

Pfizer's axitinib Phase 3 trial in advanced renal cell carcinoma meets primary endpoints

Pfizer Inc. today announced data from the pivotal Phase 3 AXIS 1032 trial, showing that in patients with previously treated advanced renal cell carcinoma, axitinib significantly extended progression-free survival at the 47th Annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago from June 3-7, 2011.

19 May 2011

International researchers discover new aspect of 'metabolic transformation'

An international research team led by Dr. Tak Mak, Director, The Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), has discovered a new aspect of "metabolic transformation", the process whereby tumour cells adapt and survive under conditions that would kill normal cells.

16 May 2011

Temsirolimus with chemotherapy may serve as promising therapy for mesothelioma

A drug commonly used to treat kidney cancer may increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy for mesothelioma, according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.

2 May 2011