Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Altheos to fund development of ATS907 Rho-kinase inhibitor with completed $20M Series A financing

Altheos, Inc., a privately held early-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it has completed a $20 million Series A financing led by Bay City Capital. New investors Novo A/S, Canaan Partners, Life Science Angels and Atheneos Capital also joined the round. The financing will be used primarily for the development of ATS907, a selective Rho-kinase inhibitor Altheos licensed from Japanese pharmaceutical company Asahi Kasei Pharma. The license also includes a series of highly active compounds (AK138 series) specifically for topical treatment for glaucoma.

5 Apr 2010

Juventas Therapeutics commences enrollment in Phase I trial of JVS-100 for treatment of Class III heart failure

Juventas Therapeutics, a privately held, clinical-stage regenerative medicine company announced it has started enrolling patients in a Phase I clinical trial for JVS-100 to evaluate safety and efficacy in the treatment of patients with Class III heart failure. JVS-100 encodes Stromal Cell-derived Factor-1 (SDF-1) and has been shown in pre-clinical studies to significantly increase cardiac function by promoting cell survival and increasing new blood vessel formation in the damaged organ.

5 Apr 2010

FDA grants Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Fast Track designation for perifosine

Æterna Zentaris Inc., a late-stage drug development company specialized in oncology and endocrine therapy, today announced that its partner, Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, was granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for perifosine (KRX-0401), the Company's novel, potentially first-in-class, oral anti-cancer agent that inhibits the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway, for the treatment of refractory advanced colorectal cancer.

5 Apr 2010

Halozyme Therapeutics secures multiple commercial supply agreements for rHuPH20

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing products targeting the extracellular matrix, today announced the execution of multiple commercial supply agreements with its existing manufacturing partners. Halozyme amended an existing commercial supply agreement with Avid Bioservices, Inc., entered into a new commercial supply agreement with Avid and entered into a new commercial supply agreement with Cook Pharmica LLC.

5 Apr 2010

Tiens Biotech Group's revenues for 2009 decline

Tiens Biotech Group (USA), Inc., http://www.tiens-bio.com , today announced financial results for the year ended December 31, 2009.

5 Apr 2010

Rosetta Genomics' Philadelphia lab commences FNA cell block sample analysis with miRview squamous test

Rosetta Genomics, Ltd., a leading developer and provider of microRNA-based molecular diagnostics, announced today that starting April 1, 2010 physicians are able to send FNA cell block samples to Rosetta Genomics' CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited laboratory in Philadelphia for analysis using Rosetta's miRview squamous test. FNA is a less invasive method to obtain tumor cells compared with tumor resections or biopsies.

5 Apr 2010

Scientists show carbon nanotubes can be broken down by MPO

A team of Swedish and American scientists has shown for the first time that carbon nanotubes can be broken down by an enzyme - myeloperoxidase - found in white blood cells. Their discoveries are presented in Nature Nanotechnology and contradict what was previously believed, that carbon nanotubes are not broken down in the body or in nature.

5 Apr 2010

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals reports $15.7M revenue from ZEVALIN sales in 2009

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a commercial-stage biotechnology company with a primary focus in oncology, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2009.

5 Apr 2010

Anytime Fitness announces opening of 1,300th gym

Anytime Fitness, the #1 co-ed fitness club franchise in the world, recently reached an impressive milestone by opening its 1,300th gym. The record-setting achievement occurred as Anytime Fitness prepares to open additional clubs in India, Mexico, the U.K., Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

5 Apr 2010

China's SFDA finds certain batches of Jiangsu Yanshen's human use rabies vaccine substandard

Simcere Pharmaceutical Group, a leading pharmaceutical company specializing in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of branded generic and proprietary pharmaceuticals in China, today reported that China's State Food and Drug Administration ("SFDA") issued a statement on its investigation into the human use rabies vaccine manufactured by Jiangsu Yanshen Biological Technology Stock Co., Ltd.. Simcere obtained a controlling stake in Jiangsu Yanshen on October 24, 2009.

5 Apr 2010

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center reviews top cancer stories

Surgeon Jeremy Richmon, M.D., at Johns Hopkins is using robotic assistance to cut away tumors of the tongue and tonsils. Conventional surgery leaves disfiguring neck and jaw scars, but the robotic procedure leaves no scar except for inside the mouth, and he says, patients retain good function of speech and swallowing.

5 Apr 2010

Rebirth of the cursed drug Thalidomide

Thalidomide was once a dreaded name in the Pharmaceutical industry. It was initially marketed in some European countries nearly 5 decades back as a sedative and after millions of pregnant women took it for morning sickness it had devastating results on the babies. The babies were born with flippers instead of limbs a condition known as phocomelia. Since then it has been under strict control.

5 Apr 2010

Opexa Therapeutics to discuss on personalized medicine for treatment of MS

Opexa Therapeutics, Inc., a company developing a novel T-cell therapy for multiple sclerosis, announced today that the company will participate in a panel discussion on Personalized Medicine for the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis on April 7, 2010.

5 Apr 2010

Why is the genome project not yielding results faster?

As the genome projects reaches the 10 year landmark scientists are defending it. While the sequencing of the 3 billion letters in the human DNA took a long time the first draft of the human genome was presented ten years ago. Today it is possible to have your individual DNA mapped in a day and at the low cost of $5,000.

5 Apr 2010

New report questions the kinetics of T cell receptors

T cell receptors are among the most important molecules in the immune system because of their role in recognizing the antigens that signal such threats as viruses and cancer. The receptors must also distinguish these threats from the body's own cells to avoid triggering an unwanted immune system response.

5 Apr 2010

U.S. Census Bureau highlights vitamin C

Today, we should raise a toast of orange juice to Dr. C.C. King of the University of Pittsburgh. It was on this day in 1932 that he isolated vitamin C.

5 Apr 2010

NHS cancer patients to receive latest and best treatments available

Cancer patients on the National Health Service may soon be offered expensive life extending drugs which are currently denied to them. David Cameron has proposed on behalf of the Conservatives that the drugs that are licensed and prescribed by the health consultant of the patient should be made available to the cancer patient, irrespective of the NHS rationing.

5 Apr 2010

Western Swedish women with breast cancer at greater risk of ovarian cancer

Previous research has shown that women with breast cancer are more likely than other women to develop ovarian cancer, but now researchers from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have shown that actually only women with a known Western Swedish mutation behind hereditary breast cancer run this increased risk of ovarian cancer.

5 Apr 2010

UEA scientists discover group of molecules that can help fight spread of cancer

A team of scientists led by the University of East Anglia has discovered a brand new group of molecules which could help fight the spread of cancer and other diseases.

5 Apr 2010

Phase Forward to exhibit ICRS at 19th Annual Partnerships in Clinical Trials

Phase Forward, a leading provider of data management solutions for clinical trials and drug safety, will participate in four industry events in April including CDISC Interchange Europe 2010, April 26-30 at the Lancaster London Hotel in London.

3 Apr 2010