Archive for November, 2007
Pharmaprojects reveals that biotechnology appears to be the key to the future of cancer therapy
Richmond, United Kingdom , 7th October 2003
New figures released today by Pharmaprojects show that a quarter of all anticancer therapies in development are based on biotechnology.
Pharmaprojects, the leading source of worldwide business-critical intelligence on drugs in R&D, analysed the number of biotechnology products under development worldwide for the treatment of cancer by year. The trend is striking. The number of products in development was steady between 1995 and 1999. However, in just the four years from 2000, the number of research products has gone from just over 40 to over 140.
Pharmaprojects has been tracking every drug in development since 1980. This, combined with its very strict editorial policy, means that these figures are among the most accurate ever reported, and reveal the massive importance of the biotechnology sector in the fight against cancer.
Andrew Marshall, Editor of Nature Biotechnology says, ?Cancer treatments have traditionally been dominated by chemotherapeutics often associated with serious side-effects and drug resistance. The promise of many biotechnology treatments is that they can provide therapeutic efficacy with reduced toxicity, with the potential to perhaps even reduce the likelihood of drug resistance. Currently, there are more experimental therapies under development in cancer than in any other indication. Already molecular medicine has provided small molecules (e.g., Gleevec) and monoclonal antibodies (e.g., Herceptin) against new targets in cancer that are showing unprecedented efficacy in patients.?
The trend towards biotech-based anticancers is clear, but biotech is an area that is as risky as it is potentially rewarding. Recent news that a gene-based ?miracle cure? therapy for the fatal ?bubble baby? syndrome of children born without immune systems was associated with increased incidence of leukaemia is a powerful example of how risky biotech trials can be. Further, many industry analysts say that the FDA, already embarrassed at having to recall some widely-used drugs after finding dangerous side-effects, has become more cautious in approving biotech-based therapies.
These issues cast huge shadows over biotech in general and gene therapies in particular. Ian Lloyd, Managing Editor of Pharmaprojects says, ?Although a new paradigm in drug development has not yet been created, Pharmaprojects? figures clearly show that pharmaceutical companies around the world have enough confidence in biotech-based anticancer therapies to invest the vast sums involved in creating new drugs?. This faith is already showing tangible rewards. Pharmaprojects recently reported positive results from Geron?s Phase I trial of its cancer vaccine, in which the majority of patients showed a significant immune response. Biotech may be an industry troubled by past failures, but it has also had some stunning successes. The unprecedented level of activity in the sector means we will undoubtedly see many more.
Coinciding with the release of this analysis, Pharmaprojects will be attending a Management Forum symposium on novel approaches for the treatment of cancer to be held in London on the 8-9th October. Delegates will hear from a panel of international experts that new biotech-based cancer treatments could be the key to the future of cancer treatment.
No commentsDedicated Breast MRI System to serve women of New York in the fight against breast cancer.
Dedicated Breast MRI System to serve women of New York in the fight against breast cancer.
North Andover, MA ?February 5, 2003 - Aurora Imaging Technology, Inc., developer of the first FDA-cleared Magnetic Resonance Imaging System designed specifically for the breast, announced the installation of the Aurora Dedicated Breast MRI System at Manhattan East Breast Imaging in New York City. Manhattan East Breast Imaging provides breast-imaging services utilizing the most advanced technologies and is dedicated to redefining early diagnosis of breast disease.
Dr. Mark D. Novick, Director of Manhattan East Breast Imaging stated: ?The Aurora Breast MRI Scanner provides the women of New York with a unique and powerful new tool to diagnose breast cancer at the earliest possible stage.? ?Until now, our focus has been to detect breast cancer when it is approximately 1 centimeter,? added Dr. Novick. ?With the MRI, we?re trying to get it down to 5 millimeters.? Dr. Novick explains that, ?While MRI does not replace mammograms and ultrasounds; it is an adjunct to those other imaging techniques, improving the ability to detect cancers that might otherwise go undetected.?
“The Aurora Dedicated Breast MRI System at Manhattan East Breast Imaging will be important to physicians in diagnosing and managing breast disease and a significant benefit to those suffering from breast cancer in the New York area.” added Gordon Olsen, Aurora’s CEO. “Manhattan East Breast Imaging is an impressive, state-of-the art, breast imaging center and we are pleased that Dr. Novick has chosen the Aurora as an important technology to serve his referring physicians and patients.”
About Aurora
Aurora Imaging Technology, Inc. (www.auroramri.com) is the developer and manufacturer of the Aurora Dedicated Breast MRI System. We are committed to helping physicians and ultimately their patients with earlier detection of breast disease resulting in the most timely and effective treatment. As a diagnostic imaging tool, the Aurora Dedicated Breast MRI System is ideal for a wide range of applications in breast disease management including: characterizing lesions, detecting occult cancer, determining the extent of cancer, monitoring cancer therapy, evaluating patients with positive surgical margins for residual cancer, excluding the existence of cancer in high risk women, and evaluating implant integrity and detecting cancer in women with breast augmentation. The Aurora is in clinical use at a growing number of leading breast care centers. To obtain a press kit and more information on the Aurora Dedicated Breast MRI System, Aurora Imaging Technology, Inc. or other Aurora Dedicated Breast MRI locations please contact:
Richard Rosene
Aurora Imaging Technology, Inc.
39 High Street, North Andover, MA 01845
(877) 975-7530
www.auroramri.com
New treatment for age-related macular degeneration
With 8 million people at high risk for advanced age-related macular degeneration, scientists from Harvard and Japan discovered that the experimental drug, endostatin, may be the cure. A research report reported in the December 2007 issue of The FASEB Journal, describes how giving endostatin to mice significantly reduced or eliminated abnormal blood vessel growth within the eye, which is ultimately why the disease causes blindness……..
Original post by Health news from medicineworld.org
No commentsPost-treatment PET scans for cervical cancer patients
Whole-body PET (positron emission tomography) scans done three months after completion of cervical cancer treatment can ensure that patients are disease-free or warn that further interventions are needed, as per a research studyat Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “This is the first time we can say that we have a reliable test to follow cervical cancer patients after treatment,” says Julie K. Schwarz, M.D., Ph.D., a Barnes-Jewish Hospital resident in the Department of Radiation Oncology. “We ask them to come back for a follow-up visit about three months after therapy is finished, and we perform a PET scan. If the scan shows a complete response to therapy, we can say with confidence that they are going to do extremely well. That’s really powerful.”…….
Original post by Health news from medicineworld.org
No commentsPersonality Traits Influence Perceived Attractiveness
A new study published in Personal Relationships examines the way in which perceptions of physical attractiveness are influenced by personality. The study finds that individuals - both men and women - who exhibit positive traits, such as honesty and helpfulness, are perceived as better looking. Those who exhibit negative traits, such as unfairness and rudeness, appear to be less physically attractive to observers……..
Original post by Health news from medicineworld.org
No commentsQuit Rates Double With Counseling And Free Nicotine Patches
Increasing the level of Quitline smoking cessation services and offering free nicotine patches are a successful and cost-effective way to reduce smoking rates, as per two new studies in the recent issue of Tobacco Control, a peer-evaluated publication of the British Medical Journal. Both studies were conducted by scientists at Kaiser Permanentes Center for Health Research in Portland, the Oregon Health Department, and Free and Clear in Seattle, a phone-based tobacco therapy program……..
Original post by Health news from medicineworld.org
No commentsClub drugs inflict damage to brain
What do suffering a traumatic brain injury and using club drugs have in common”. University of Florida scientists say both may trigger a similar chemical chain reaction in the brain, leading to cell death, memory loss and potentially irreversible brain damage. A series of studies at UF over the past five years has shown using the popular club drug Ecstasy, also called MDMA, and other forms of methamphetamine lead to the same type of brain changes, cell loss and protein fluctuations in the brain that occur after a person endures a sharp blow to the head, as per findings a UF researcher presented at a Society for Neuroscience conference held in San Diego this month……..
Original post by Health news from medicineworld.org
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