Posts Tagged ‘Therapeutic’

OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Announces FDA Clearance to Commence Phase 1 Testing of Anti-Cancer Stem Cell Therapeutic OMP …

OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Announces FDA Clearance to Commence Phase 1 Testing of Anti-Cancer Stem Cell Therapeutic OMP …
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company developing novel therapeutics that target cancer stem cells or tumor-initiating cells, today announced that the FDA has accepted an IND filing for OMP-18R5, which allows OncoMed to commence Phase 1 clinical testing. OMP-18R5 is a monoclonal antibody that binds selected receptors in the Wnt signaling …

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Vical receives EMA Scientific Advice for Phase 3 trial of TransVax therapeutic CMV vaccine

Vical receives EMA Scientific Advice for Phase 3 trial of TransVax therapeutic CMV vaccine
Vical Incorporated announced today the receipt of Scientific Advice from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommending practical efficacy endpoints for a Phase 3 trial of the company’s TransVax™ therapeutic cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine.

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Chemo Brain & Recovery [Part 14 of 17]: Therapeutic Value of Physical and Mental Exercise

Stage III breast cancer survivor Dr. Susan Hardwicke explains how physical exercise helps create new brain cells, and repeated mental exercises help create new brain structure. Workshop was addressed to cancer survivors and oncology nurses at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Blood Cancer Conference in Virginia.

Xoft Awarded Two Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Program Grants For Electronic Brachytherapy

Xoft Awarded Two Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Program Grants For Electronic Brachytherapy
Xoft, Inc., developer of the Axxent® Electronic Brachytherapy, eBx⢠System, announced today that it has received nearly $500,000 in grants from the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Program.  Xoft received the maximum amount of $244,479.25 for two Electronic Brachytherapy grants, one for the treatment of breast cancer and one for the treatment of gynecological cancers.  The …

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Potential therapeutic target across a range of cancer types found

Potential therapeutic target across a range of cancer types found
London, Oct 21 : Researchers have found a common link among several malignant tumor types in all grades of cancer.

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Researchers Find Potential Therapeutic Target Across a Range of Cancer Types

Researchers Find Potential Therapeutic Target Across a Range of Cancer Types
Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in collaboration with investigators of the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) of France led by Nicolae Ghinea, PhD, have found a common link among several malignant tumor types in all grades of cancer. This breakthrough may ultimately provide a new diagnostic or therapeutic target to detect cancer early or stop tumor growth …

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Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation hosts conference to discuss therapeutic medicine advancements

Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation hosts conference to discuss therapeutic medicine advancements
The Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation is hosting the 2nd International Symposium on MR-guided Focused Ultrasound in Chantilly, Virginia from October 17-20. Leading researchers and clinicians from around the world will gather at the three-day scientific conference to present and discuss the latest advancements in one of the most revolutionary and promising areas of therapeutic medicine.

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Targeting Cancer Stem Cells: Therapeutic Strategies, Drug Development Pipeline, Biomarkers and Diagnostic Opportunities 2010

Cancer Stem Cell (CSC) research has accelerated in the last two years and considerable efforts are now being made to identify drug molecules that selectively target and destroy them. Today, 50 developmental molecules are being evaluated in the hope of targeting this subset of cancer cells. More than 40 companies and commercial groups are progressing these activities and around 20 drug-targeting strategies are being evaluated. Efforts are being made to target CSCs using novel single agents as well as combinations, based on new and established classes. This 2010 report gives a comprehensive update on current therapeutic and diagnostic development in this field, on the drug development pipeline and the most promising research areas in CSC characterisation. New therapeutic and diagnostic opportunities in this field are also presented.

Background: Many cancers contain a subset of stem-like cells believed to play a critical role in the development and progression of the disease. These cells, named Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs), have been found in leukaemia, myeloma, breast, prostate, pancreatic, colon, brain, lung and other cancers. Findings suggest that CSCs are able to “seed” new tumour formation and drive metastasis. CSCs also show resistance to a number of chemotherapy drug classes and radiotherapy – which may explain why it is difficult to completely eradicate cancer cells from the body, and why recurrence remains an ever-present threat. If these findings are confirmed in the clinic, the targeting of CSCs alongside the bulk of other cancer cells will offer a new paradigm in cancer therapeutics. Currently, there are more than 50 CSC R&D programmes in progress, around 50% of which are at Phases I-III. Patient data from the first clinical trials on CSC-targeting drugs are now being reported. More than two thirds of CSC R&D programmes are being taken forward by SME’s, and >90% of the patents in this field have been filed by Universities. Substantial opportunity for collaboration exists in this field, and this has lead to agreements between SMEs and number of international pharmaceutical companies.

Drug Pipeline: Approximately 20 different strategies, which are described in this report, are being pursued in the hope of discovering ways of selectively targeting CSCs. Recently for example, at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December 2009, data were presented on the targeting of chemotherapy-resistant breast CSCs with the Merck compound MK-0752, a gamma-secretase inhibitor that targets the Notch pathway. In a study involving 35 women with advanced breast cancer, biopsies revealed reduced numbers of breast CSCs. In this particular case, it was suggested that combination therapies involving agents that also target the Notch pathway (believed to be important in CSC renewal) may offer more powerful strategies for killing resistant CSC populations.

Cancer Diagnostics: CSCs are believed to be causally linked to the development and metastatic spread of cancer. If this is confirmed in the clinic, this will place CSCs at the heart of cancer diagnostics and biomarkers. Scientists have identified a number of surface proteins, such as CD44, CD133 and many others, that may have important utility in both of these areas. A number of intracellular markers found in CSCs may also have diagnostic utility. These developments are described in this report. For example, CD133 mRNA levels in peripheral blood, measured using RT-PCR, have been found to predict colon cancer recurrence. There is a need for new methodologies that isolate and characterise circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in the blood, and can be applied to CSCs. CTC technologies using the EpCam marker to isolate these cells are able to predict breast and colon cancer recurrence. The adaption of these techniques, based on specific CSC phenotypes, may provide sensitive new methods for identifying CSCs in the body. If this is achieved, it will have important implications in therapeutic decision-making and monitoring.

This 2010 report gives a comprehensive and up-to-date review of global R&D on CSCs, and strategies to target them. This includes around 40 companies or commercially based research organisations (including 27 SMEs and 8 international pharmaceutical companies) that are progressing drug discovery activities, including drug pipeline (pre-clinical to Phase III), discovery strategy, candidate molecules, drug targets, clinical trials and related areas.

For more information on the report, kindly visit :
http://www.visionshopsters.com/product/3358/Targeting-Cancer-Stem-Cells-Therapeutic-Strategies-Drug-Development-Pipeline-Biomarkers-and-Diagnostic-Opportunities-2010.html

or email us your query at :

Cancer Stem Cell (CSC) research has accelerated in the last two years and considerable efforts are now being made to identify drug molecules that selectively target and destroy them. Today, 50 developmental molecules are being evaluated in the hope of targeting this subset of cancer cells. More than 40 companies and commercial groups are progressing these activities and around 20 drug-targeting strategies are being evaluated. Efforts are being made to target CSCs using novel single agents as well as combinations, based on new and established classes. This 2010 report gives a comprehensive update on current therapeutic and diagnostic development in this field, on the drug development pipeline and the most promising research areas in CSC characterisation. New therapeutic and diagnostic opportunities in this field are also presented.

Background: Many cancers contain a subset of stem-like cells believed to play a critical role in the development and progression of the disease. These cells, named Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs), have been found in leukaemia, myeloma, breast, prostate, pancreatic, colon, brain, lung and other cancers. Findings suggest that CSCs are able to “seed” new tumour formation and drive metastasis. CSCs also show resistance to a number of chemotherapy drug classes and radiotherapy – which may explain why it is difficult to completely eradicate cancer cells from the body, and why recurrence remains an ever-present threat. If these findings are confirmed in the clinic, the targeting of CSCs alongside the bulk of other cancer cells will offer a new paradigm in cancer therapeutics. Currently, there are more than 50 CSC R&D programmes in progress, around 50% of which are at Phases I-III. Patient data from the first clinical trials on CSC-targeting drugs are now being reported. More than two thirds of CSC R&D programmes are being taken forward by SME’s, and >90% of the patents in this field have been filed by Universities. Substantial opportunity for collaboration exists in this field, and this has lead to agreements between SMEs and number of international pharmaceutical companies.

Drug Pipeline: Approximately 20 different strategies, which are described in this report, are being pursued in the hope of discovering ways of selectively targeting CSCs. Recently for example, at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December 2009, data were presented on the targeting of chemotherapy-resistant breast CSCs with the Merck compound MK-0752, a gamma-secretase inhibitor that targets the Notch pathway. In a study involving 35 women with advanced breast cancer, biopsies revealed reduced numbers of breast CSCs. In this particular case, it was suggested that combination therapies involving agents that also target the Notch pathway (believed to be important in CSC renewal) may offer more powerful strategies for killing resistant CSC populations.

Cancer Diagnostics: CSCs are believed to be causally linked to the development and metastatic spread of cancer. If this is confirmed in the clinic, this will place CSCs at the heart of cancer diagnostics and biomarkers. Scientists have identified a number of surface proteins, such as CD44, CD133 and many others, that may have important utility in both of these areas. A number of intracellular markers found in CSCs may also have diagnostic utility. These developments are described in this report. For example, CD133 mRNA levels in peripheral blood, measured using RT-PCR, have been found to predict colon cancer recurrence. There is a need for new methodologies that isolate and characterise circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in the blood, and can be applied to CSCs. CTC technologies using the EpCam marker to isolate these cells are able to predict breast and colon cancer recurrence. The adaption of these techniques, based on specific CSC phenotypes, may provide sensitive new methods for identifying CSCs in the body. If this is achieved, it will have important implications in therapeutic decision-making and monitoring.

This 2010 report gives a comprehensive and up-to-date review of global R&D on CSCs, and strategies to target them. This includes around 40 companies or commercially based research organisations (including 27 SMEs and 8 international pharmaceutical companies) that are progressing drug discovery activities, including drug pipeline (pre-clinical to Phase III), discovery strategy, candidate molecules, drug targets, clinical trials and related areas.

For more information on the report, kindly visit :
http://www.visionshopsters.com/product/3358/Targeting-Cancer-Stem-Cells-Therapeutic-Strategies-Drug-Development-Pipeline-Biomarkers-and-Diagnostic-Opportunities-2010.html

or email us your query at : info@visionshopsters.com
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