IsoRay : Its Revolutionary Internal Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancers is Focus of National Study

October 13, 2010 -… IsoRay, Inc. (Amex: ISR) announced the initiation of a multi-institutional study of Cesium-131 brachytherapy seeds (internal radiation therapy) for use in Non Small Cell Lung Cancers (NSCLC). A number of institutions and physicians will be working to collect scientific data to further the use of Cesium-131 internal radiation therapy in conjunction with surgery for NSCLC. The study expands participation in the application of the breakthrough internal radiation treatment. It allows doctors to aggressively treat lung cancer using a single procedure upon tumor removal that is demonstrating its impact as a new vital weapon in the war on cancer.
Lung cancer continues to be the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. There are two main types of lung cancer - Small Cell Lung Cancer and Non Small Cell Lung Cancer. Non Small Cell Lung Cancer is the most common type of lung cancer. Some 8 to 9 out of 10 cases of all lung cancer cases are non small cell type. This year alone, an estimated 225,000 cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed of which some 80% will be Non Small Cell Lung Cancer... [PDF] IsoRay's Press Release -

Amakem : COPD drug development program

November 15, 2010 - Amakem receives 1.28M€ government funding for COPD drug development program - Localized Drug Action platform addresses side effects – Amakem announces that it has been awarded 1.28M€ by the Flemish government agency for Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT) to support its Rho kinase (ROCK) inhibitor-based drug development program for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Amakem was founded early this year by Dirk Leysen (CSO) and Olivier Defert (director external R&D), both former Devgen researchers. Jack Elands (CEO), who joined shortly thereafter, comments: “COPD is a serious disease for which no cure exists. So-called kinase inhibitors hold great promise, but many have failed in clinical trials because of their limited therapeutic window. To address this fundamental problem with such kinase based drugs we developed our „Localized Drug Action‟ platform."
Amakem focuses on making drugs safer by limiting or avoiding systemic exposure, thereby reducing side effects caused in non target organs... [PDF] Amakem's Press Release -

China Medical Technologies : SFDA Approval for its First Self-Developed PCR-based EGFR Assay for Lung Cancer Targeted Drugs

Nov. 10, 2010 - China Medical Technologies, Inc. (the "Company") (Nasdaq: CMED), a leading China-based advanced in-vitro diagnostic ("IVD") company, announced that it has received approval for its real-time PCR-based Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor ("EGFR") Assay (the "EGFR PCR Assay") for the use of lung cancer targeted drugs from the State Food and Drug Administration of China (the "SFDA").

The EGFR PCR Assay is used for the detection of the 28 most common somatic mutations in the EGFR gene of patients with non-small cell lung cancer ("NSCLC") and provides a qualitative assessment of mutation status to determine the use of lung cancer targeted drugs for patients.

With its own internal research and development efforts, the Company has successfully developed its first PCR-based assay related to companion diagnostic tests for personalized medicines for cancer patients. The Company's EGFR PCR Assay is the first PCR-based EGFR assay for the use of lung cancer targeted drugs approved by the SFDA... China Medical Technologies' Press Release -

Synergenz BioScience Awarded Therapeutic Discovery Project Grant

Nov. 2, 2010 – Synergenz BioScience, Inc., a leader in predictive risk stratification for smoking-related lung cancer, was awarded a research grant under the Federal Government’s Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) program.

The $94,836 grant will assist Synergenz’s ongoing clinical utility trials for Respiragene™, a genetic-based test for lung cancer predisposition. Respiragene™ identifies the subset of individuals most likely to develop lung cancer from their smoking habit -- before disease strikes -- allowing doctors to improve preventative care for a cancer usually diagnosed too late to save their patients... Synergenz's Press Release -