Rapamycin News and Research

RSS

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.

Scientists identify new pathway to control immune balance

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have identified a new pathway that helps control the immune balance through reciprocal regulation of specialized T lymphocytes, which play very different inflammatory roles.

21 Sep 2010

U-M research results show potential for discovering new avenues for anti-aging drugs

A team of University of Michigan scientists has found that suppressing a newly discovered gene lengthens the lifespan of roundworms. Scientists who study aging have long known that significantly restricting food intake makes animals live longer. But the goal is to find less drastic ways to achieve the same effect in humans someday. The U-M results offer promising early evidence that scientists may succeed at finding targets for drugs that someday could allow people to live longer, healthier lives.

19 Aug 2010

Scientists reveal lab approach method to treat neuroblastoma in children

A study led by scientists at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) reveals a new method of identifying drugs to treat children suffering from fatal cancers for which an effective treatment has not been found. Rather than developing a new drug from scratch, which is a complicated and time-consuming process, they tried a different approach: in the lab, they tested existing drugs on cancer stem cells from young patients with neuroblastoma, one of the common cancers of infants and children.

19 Aug 2010

New study reveals potential role of TGF-β1 in kidney disease

Fibrosis in the kidney is one of the key causes of progressive renal failure. High levels of the inflammatory molecule TGF-β1 in the kidney tubules due to tissue damage can cause fibrosis as well as nephron degeneration, resulting in loss of kidney function. To clarify the mechanisms regulating TGF-β1-mediated renal fibrosis, Koesters et al expressed high levels of TGF-β1 in renal tubules of mice. Nephron degeneration in this system was mediated by decomposition of the tubular cells. These data suggest that TGF-β1 may play a novel role in cell death of renal cells, thus contributing to renal fibrosis.

28 Jul 2010

Research findings may help identify human TOR kinase inhibitors

A parasite estimated to afflict as many as 12 million people worldwide relies on a family of genes that should make it vulnerable to compounds developed to treat cancer and other disorders, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

17 Jul 2010

Afinitor more than doubles progression-free survival in advanced pancreatic NET: Study

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced today that results of a Phase III study show Afinitor® (everolimus) tablets plus best supportive care (BSC) more than doubled progression-free survival, or time without tumor growth, versus placebo plus BSC in patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NET). The study, RADIANT-3, was presented at the 12th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer and is part of the largest clinical trial program in patients with advanced NET.

1 Jul 2010

Semafore's SF1126 peptidic prodrug demonstrates clinical activity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Semafore Pharmaceuticals today announced the presentation of preliminary clinical data demonstrating that SF1126 has clinical activity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). SF1126 is a novel peptidic prodrug that converts to LY294002, one of the most widely studied small molecule inhibitors of both phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). The results were presented at Cambridge Healthtech Institute's 8th Annual Next-Gen Kinase Inhibitors Oncology & Beyond Conference being held June 21-23, 2010, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

22 Jun 2010

Novartis' Afinitor decreases size of SEGAs associated with tuberous sclerosis

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced today that results from a Phase II study show Afinitor® (everolimus) tablets is the first medication in a clinical trial to decrease the size of subependymal giant cell astrocytomas (SEGAs), benign brain tumors associated with tuberous sclerosis (TS). In this study of 28 patients presented today at the 46th American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago, 75% of patients experienced a reduction of 30% or greater in the size of their brain tumors from baseline to six months (p<0.001).

7 Jun 2010

Phase III study of Afinitor tablets in patients with advanced pancreatic NET meets primary endpoint

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced today that a Phase III study of Afinitor (everolimus) tablets plus best supportive care met its primary endpoint, showing the drug significantly extended progression-free survival, or time without tumor growth, in patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

3 Jun 2010

Entelos' T1D PhysioLab platform published in Clinical and Experimental Immunology

Entelos, Inc. has announced a publication in the peer-reviewed journal Clinical and Experimental Immunology describing the Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) PhysioLab® platform, an in silico solution for rapidly streamlining preclinical research through the evaluation of alternative scenarios for therapeutic strategies.

2 Jun 2010

New data highlighting Pfizer's approach to cancer drug development to be presented at ASCO meeting

Pfizer Oncology will present new data highlighting the company's focused approach to cancer drug development through the identification and validation of molecular targets. These results will be presented at the 46th Annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago from June 4-8.

21 May 2010

Restoration of post-meal blood vessel expansion may help improve strength and health in elderly people

Why do people become physically weaker as they age? And is there any way to slow, stop, or even reverse this process, breaking the link between increasing age and frailty?

21 May 2010

Quest PharmaTech net consolidated loss for 2010 increases to $517,799

Quest PharmaTech Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing products for the treatment of cancer, today announced financial and operational results for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2010.

20 May 2010

Immunosuppressive drug sirolimus improves kidney health of patients with ADPKD: Study

The immunosuppressive drug sirolimus considerably improves the kidney health of patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

14 May 2010

FDA approves Novartis Pharmaceuticals' Zortress for preventing rejection of kidney transplants

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Zortress® (everolimus) oral tablets for the prevention of rejection of kidney transplants in adult patients at low-to-moderate immunologic risk. Zortress is to be given in combination with reduced doses of the calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) cyclosporine, as well as basiliximab and corticosteroids.

22 Apr 2010

New treatment modalities for RCC

Renal cell carcinoma accounts for about 3% of all solid tumours in adults, and worldwide, more than 200.000 new cases and 100.000 deaths result each year from this malignancy.

21 Apr 2010

Semafore Pharmaceuticals' SF1126 PI3K-mTOR inhibitor demonstrates broad anti-tumor activity in lymphoma

Semafore Pharmaceuticals today announced the presentation of data demonstrating that SF1126, a novel small molecule inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), has broad preclinical anti-tumor activity in multiple myeloma and lymphoma. Data were presented in a poster presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

21 Apr 2010

FDA-approved metformin can prevent tobacco-carcinogen induced lung tumors: Study

Metformin, a mainstay of treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes, may soon play a role in lung cancer prevention if early laboratory research presented here at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010 is confirmed in clinical trials.

20 Apr 2010

Surgery still the only measure to cure RCC

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for about 3% of all solid tumours in adults, and worldwide, more than 200.000 new cases and 100.000 deaths result each year from this malignancy.

19 Apr 2010

Calorie restriction may help people to lead longer and healthier lives

Organisms from yeast to rodents to humans all benefit from cutting calories. In less complex organisms, restricting calories can double or even triple lifespan. It's not yet clear just how much longer calorie restriction might help humans live, but those who practice the strict diet hope to survive past 100 years old.

16 Apr 2010