Archive for the ‘leukemia’ Category
Mar
02
Posted under
Blog,
Cancer Drugs,
Companies,
Diagnostics,
Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever,
Ebola virus,
Funding,
Gleevec,
leukemia,
Medical Devices,
Medical Supply,
Novartis,
Pharmaceuticals,
Startups,
Universities,
Videos by Ryan McBride
A pair of Novartis ($NVS) leukemia drugs effectively attacked the highly lethal Ebola virus in lab tests, providing clues about what it might take to finally march forward with a treatment against the killer bug.
NIH researchers tested the Swiss drug giant's blood cancer remedies--Gleevec and Tasigna--in lab dishes containing cells infected with Ebola, showing that the drugs were able to block the spread of viral particles from the cells, Bloomberg reported. It turns out that a force behind reproduction of the virus is a tyrosine kinase known as c-Abl1, a close relative of Bcr-Abl, a protein that both Gleevec and Tasigna block.
Bloomberg reported that sales of the two Novartis drugs brought in $5.45 billion in sales last year.
"Drugs that target [the release of viral particles] would be expected to reduce the spread of infection, giving the immune system time to control the infection," the study authors wrote, as quoted by Pakistan's International News Network. "Our results suggest that short-term administration of [Tasigna] or [Gleevec] may be useful in treating Ebola virus infections."
Tasigna stymied reproduction of the virus by 10,000-fold, the news service reported, but researchers say that new drugs could be designed to target c-Abl1 specifically. That could be good news for victims of Ebola, which triggers hemorrhagic fevers that cause bleeding and eventually death in 9 out of 10 victims, according to the International News Network's article on the findings.
The NIH has been a big supporter of repurposing existing drugs to fight new diseases, sometimes ones very different than the original ailment for which the drug was developed. Repurposing drugs is expected to benefit from scientists' deeper understanding of the mechanisms and genes involved in diseases.
- check out the Bloomberg report
- and the International News Network's article
Related Articles:
Stanford investigators match old drugs with new medical uses
Pfizer mines data to find compounds for repurposing
Jan
23
Posted under
Blog,
Companies,
Diagnostics,
EntreMed,
Funding,
kinase,
leukemia,
Medical Devices,
Medical Supply,
ovarian cancer,
Pharmaceuticals,
Startups,
Universities,
Videos by Ryan McBride
EntreMed ($ENMD) has struck a deal to bring in much-needed capital to support development of its experimental kinase inhibitor for attacking multiple types of cancer. And the Rockville, MD-based drug developer could name an interim chief executive to fill a spot vacated three years ago when former CEO Jim Burns left the firm, the Washington Business Journal reported.
The company's latest funding plan, which is subject to shareholder approval, comes in the form of a convertible notes offering, with buyers including IDG-Accel China Growth Fund II, Emerging Technology Partners, and Dr. Tak W. Mak, director of The Campbell Family Institute for Cancer Research.
With the funding, the company has high hopes to advance its lead drug, ENMD-2076, an Aurora A/angiogenic kinase inhibitor in midstage trials to treat ovarian cancer. The drug is also being investigated in initial trials for patients with solid tumors, multiple myeloma and leukemia, the company said. In October, the company's shares jumped on upbeat Phase II data, which showed that 22% of 64 patients with ovarian tumors who took ENMD-2076 lived for 6 months without their cancer getting worse.
"We are very pleased to have the support from a group of knowledgeable investors and the validation of the potential of ENMD-2076. The proceeds from the notes will allow the company to accelerate and expand its research and development activities, fund additional trials, initiatives and long term strategic plans," Michael Tarnow, the company's executive chairman, said in a statement.
- here's the Washington Business Journal's article
- and the company's release
Related Article:
EntreMed shares spike on PhII cancer data
Dec
12
Posted under
Blog,
blood cancer,
chronic lymphocytic leukemia,
Companies,
Diagnostics,
Funding,
leukemia,
Medical Devices,
Medical Supply,
PCI-32765,
Pharmaceuticals,
Pharmacyclics,
Startups,
Universities,
Videos by John Carroll
Anyone looking for a solid reason why J&J's Janssen would pay $150 million upfront to partner on Pharmacyclics' experimental blood cancer drug need look no further than the leukemia data the biotech had to offer analysts over the weekend.
Pharmacyclics ($PCYC) reported on Sunday that the 10-month follow-up data on its low-dose formulation of PCI-32765, a Btk inhibitor, looks better than the six-month data it's gathered in a small Phase Ib/II study. A total of 70% of the 61 chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients in the trial demonstrated a significant response, compared to 48% at the six-month mark. Progression-free survival hit 90% at six months,
All of the patients had failed at least two standard therapies for leukemia. The response rate in the high-dose group hit 44%. Lead author Dr. John Byrd of Ohio State called the data "phenomenal."
"In the 15 years I've been practicing as a CLL-specific specialist, this is by far the most phenomenally active drug for refractory CLL patients in terms of response and durability and tolerability," Byrd told HemOnc Today. "Eighty-six percent of people receiving this drug are progression free at 1 year. Given the durability and the potential that patients can stay on therapy for an extended period of time without adverse events, it's likely this is going a paradigm-shifting drug."
J&J ($JNJ) presumably agreed with that upbeat assessment. On Friday Janssen committed an old-fashioned blockbuster upfront to buy into the program, demonstrating once again that the Big Pharma company is willing to dig down into its very deep pockets to jump into a late-stage program that has been significantly de-risked. J&J will now help orchestrate a range of Phase III studies for the treatment.
- here's the Reuters story
- get the article from HemOnc Today
Related Articles:
Updated: J&J locks in blood cancer compound in $975M pact
Pharmacyclics snares $39.5M development deal
Dec
12
Posted under
Blog,
blood cancer,
chronic lymphocytic leukemia,
Companies,
Diagnostics,
Funding,
leukemia,
Medical Devices,
Medical Supply,
PCI-32765,
Pharmaceuticals,
Pharmacyclics,
Startups,
Universities,
Videos by John Carroll
Anyone looking for a solid reason why J&J's Janssen would pay $150 million upfront to partner on Pharmacyclics' experimental blood cancer drug need look no further than the leukemia data the biotech had to offer analysts over the weekend.
Pharmacyclics ($PCYC) reported on Sunday that the 10-month follow-up data on its low-dose formulation of PCI-32765, a Btk inhibitor, looks better than the six-month data it's gathered in a small Phase Ib/II study. A total of 70% of the 61 chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients in the trial demonstrated a significant response, compared to 48% at the six-month mark. Progression-free survival hit 90% at six months,
All of the patients had failed at least two standard therapies for leukemia. The response rate in the high-dose group hit 44%. Lead author Dr. John Byrd of Ohio State called the data "phenomenal."
"In the 15 years I've been practicing as a CLL-specific specialist, this is by far the most phenomenally active drug for refractory CLL patients in terms of response and durability and tolerability," Byrd told HemOnc Today. "Eighty-six percent of people receiving this drug are progression free at 1 year. Given the durability and the potential that patients can stay on therapy for an extended period of time without adverse events, it's likely this is going a paradigm-shifting drug."
J&J ($JNJ) presumably agreed with that upbeat assessment. On Friday Janssen committed an old-fashioned blockbuster upfront to buy into the program, demonstrating once again that the Big Pharma company is willing to dig down into its very deep pockets to jump into a late-stage program that has been significantly de-risked. J&J will now help orchestrate a range of Phase III studies for the treatment.
- here's the Reuters story
- get the article from HemOnc Today
Related Articles:
Updated: J&J locks in blood cancer compound in $975M pact
Pharmacyclics snares $39.5M development deal