Two companies announced news last week regarding their efforts to treat cancer by administering treatments that become activated by physiological conditions specific to the tumor microenvironment. Threshold Pharmaceuticals announced data from Phase III clinical trials of evophosphamide (TH-302), and BioAtla announced an antibody development deal with Pfizer. Continue reading
Eli Lilly has licensed exclusive worldwide rights to Ignyta’s Phase I taladegib oncology development program, in a deal the San Diego biotech said could generate up to $53 million-plus. Taladegib is an oral bioavailable small molecule hedgehog/smoothened antagonist. The compound has achieved clinical proof-of-concept and a recommended Phase II dose based on earlier clinical studies. Continue reading
Adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. This type of cancer usually gets worse quickly if it is not treated. Continue reading
Why elephants do not get cancer is a famous conundrum that was posed by epidemiologist Richard Peto of the University of Oxford, UK, in the 1970’s. Peto noted that, in general, there is little relationship between cancer rates and the body size or age of animals. Continue reading
Liquid biopsy is the use of blood to diagnose cancer. Pathway Genomics launched its CancerIntercept test that screens for multiple cancers. Continue reading
Question: How do you turn aggressive breast, lung, and bladder cancer cells back into benign cells?
Answer: microRNAi’s. Continue reading
OncoMed initiated a Phase I/II trial of its anti-RSPO3 antibody (OMP-131R10) in patients with relapsed colorectal cancer. Patients will also be receiving FOLFIRI (5-FU, irinotecan, leucovorin). Continue reading
Opdivo (nivolumab – BMS) and Cometriq (cabozantinib -Exelixis) demonstrated positive results in studies of patients with kidney cancer. Renal cell carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults, accounting for more than 100,000 deaths annually. Globally, the five-year survival rate for those diagnosed with metastatic, or advanced kidney cancer, is 12.1 percent. Continue reading
The Oncology Drug Advisory Committee voted (informally) to recommend approval of Lilly’s necitumumab in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin for the first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic squamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Continue reading
The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) receives signals from outside the cell that promote cell division and block apoptosis, leading to proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. Continue reading