Lilly : Study Showed ALIMTA (pemetrexed for injection) Improved Survival in Certain Types of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

May 28, 2008 - The type of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients have may now influence their treatment regimen and, in turn, survival outcome according to the results of a major study published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Publication of the study was announced by Eli Lilly and Company.
The 1,725-patient study, the largest Phase III clinical trial in the first-line NSCLC setting, evaluated ALIMTA(R) (pemetrexed for injection) plus cisplatin versus GEMZAR(R) (gemcitabine HCl for injection) plus cisplatin, a standard of treatment in this setting. The trial met its primary endpoint of non-inferiority relative to overall survival... Lilly's Press Release -

GlaxoSmithKline : New data for pazopanib – GSK’s latest investigational anti-cancer agent – shows promise across multiple cancers

31 May 2008 - GlaxoSmithKline announced the results of two Phase II trials demonstrating the potential for pazopanib, an oral, investigational angiogenesis inhibitor, as a treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), [1] the most common form of lung cancer, [2] and renal cell carcinoma (RCC). [3] The data were presented at the 44^th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago. Pazopanib is not approved in any market for any indication at this time.

Pazopanib targets vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), platelet derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) and c-kit, key proteins that help with the growth of new blood vessels in the body. [4] This process, known as angiogenesis, plays a critical role in the growth and spread of tumors. [5]... GlaxoSmithKline's Press Release -

Rosetta Genomics and M. D. Anderson to Develop a MicroRNA-based Diagnostic Test to Identify Risk of Recurrence of Lung Cancer

June 6, 2008 - Rosetta Genomics, Ltd. (NASDQ: ROSG), a leader in the development of microRNA-based diagnostic and therapeutic products, announced today a research collaboration with The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Kleberg Center for Molecular Markers to develop a microRNA- based diagnostic test to predict risk of disease recurrence in lung cancer patients who have undergone curative resection.

Current treatment for lung cancer includes surgical resection which may be followed by adjuvant therapy. While patients with high risk of recurrence may benefit from adjuvant therapy, those with low risk of recurrence may be exposed to unnecessary toxicities. The goal of this collaboration is to develop a test that will enable physicians to distinguish between patients with high and low risk of recurrence to optimize treatment regimens... Rosetta Genomics' Press Release -

GlaxoSmithKline : New data on MAGE-A3 cancer immuno therapy support novel options of treating non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma

30 May 2008 - New data presented by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) highlighted the potential of its investigational MAGE-A3 Antigen-Specific Cancer Immunotherapeutic (ASCI) through results of three studies evaluating highly targeted immunotherapy as a treatment for metastatic melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These data were presented at the 2008 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago[Abstract Nos: 9065^[i], 9045^[ii] and 7501^[iii].

A randomised, open label Phase II study designed to evaluate two different formulations of the MAGE-A3 ASCI in patients with metastatic melanoma has been conducted. In this study, the ASCI, which is a combination of MAGE-A3 recombinant protein and a GSK proprietary Adjuvant System, was evaluated and resultant data suggest a positive trend for clinical response... GlaxoSmithKline's Press Release -

Pulmo BioTech : Details of the Methodology for its Phase I Human Trials

May 16 2008 - Pulmo BioTech Inc has announced details of the methodology and purpose of its Phase I Human Trials with its PulmoBind Molecular Imaging technology for the diagnosis of Pulmonary Embolism and Pulmonary Hypertension.

The work will be carried out by Pulmo BioTech subsidiary PulmoScience Inc and the title of the work is: “Phase I Study of the Use of PulmoBind for Molecular Imaging of the Pulmonary Circulation”.

The study will be a single center, Phase 1 safety and efficacy study of a single intravenous injection of PulmoBind in human subjects with no history of lung disease... Pulmo BioTech's Press Release -

MDS Pharma Services : Therapeutic Focus on Respiratory

May 20, 2008 - MDS Pharma Services, a leading provider of innovative drug discovery and development solutions, has named two experienced medical professionals to lead its late stage clinical trial management activities related to respiratory ailments and metabolic disorders. Dr. Bernard Tisserand and Dr. Jonny L. Salyer have been named Executive Medical Directors for Respiratory Disorders and Metabolic Disorders, respectively. These therapeutic areas represent serious global public health concerns and are key areas of focus for MDS Pharma Services' customers.

Respiratory disorders include conditions such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and community acquired pneumonia (CAP), while metabolic disorders include diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity and metabolic syndrome, which is defined as a cluster of conditions that damage the cardiovascular system... MDS Pharma Services' Press Release -

DEY : Concomitant Use of Nebulized Formoterol Fumarate and Tiotropium Provides Significant Improvement in Dyspnea, COPD Symptoms and ...

May 20, 2008 – Data presented at the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) demonstrate that concomitant therapy with Perforomist™ Inhalation Solution (formoterol fumarate inhalation solution; FFIS), delivered by nebulization, and Spiriva^® (tiotropium; TIO) is significantly more effective than treatment with tiotropium alone.
Perforomist Inhalation Solution was approved in 2008 by the FDA for long-term, twice-daily maintenance treatment of bronchoconstriction in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It is the only FDA-approved nebulized formoterol fumarate... Dey's Press Release -

Almirall & Forest : Positive Results of Clinical Studies for Aclidinium Bromide, a Novel, Long-Acting Anticholinergic for the Treatment for COPD

May 20, 2008 - Forest Laboratories, Inc. and Laboratorios Almirall, S.A. presented results from four clinical trials assessing the efficacy and safety of aclidinium bromide, an investigational treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Data from four preclinical studies further describing the properties of aclidinium were also presented at the meeting.

Presentations included data from a 464-patient randomized, double-blind, four-week, Phase IIb study that evaluated both the efficacy and tolerability of once-daily aclidinium (25 mcg, 50 mcg, 100 mcg, 200 mcg or 400 mcg) or placebo in patients with moderate to severe COPD. An open-label tiotropium (18 mcg) arm was included as an active control... Forest Laboratories' Press Release - Almirall's Press Release -

Basilea Pharmaceutica : Ceftobiprole shows high cure rates in patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia

May 20, 2008 - Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. (SWX: BSLN) highlights the presentation of positive phase III results on ceftobiprole in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) requiring hospitalization at the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society (ATS). The detailed analysis of previously announced top line results demonstrate high cure rates in patients at risk for poor outcomes.

The randomized, double-blind phase III study compared clinical outcomes following the treatment with ceftobiprole versus ceftriaxone with or without linezolid in patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia. The clinical cure rate in the clinically evaluable patient population with moderate to severe pneumonia was 87% for ceftobiprole and 88% for the comparator arm. In patients infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae, the most common pathogen in CAP, high cure rates were achieved with ceftobiprole (93%) and the comparator (89%). In the overall study population ceftobiprole met non-inferiority with a margin (delta) of 10%... Basilea Pharmaceutica's Press Release -

Perceptronix Medical : Early Detection Brings Hope

May 16, 2008 - "Early detection of any cancer is always the best hope for successful treatment and a positive outcome, but early detection for lung cancer has never been more important than now," says Bojana Turic, MD, president and CEO of Perceptonix Medical Inc., Vancouver, "when on average 388 Canadians will die of lung cancer every week."

Current international studies show that even smokers who have kicked the habit are still at risk of developing lung cancer since researchers believe that the lung tissue damaged by smoking may never repair to normal status and, therefore, former smokers continue to be at risk throughout their lifetime. The risk decreases the longer one has stopped smoking... [PDF] Perceptonix Medical's Press Release -

TeraRecon iNtuition : at the Stanford MDCT face-off in Las Vegas

May 15 , 2008 - TeraRecon, Inc., a leader in advanced imaging processing technology and 3D visualization solutions, applied new innovations in client-server advanced visualization at the 6th “Workstation Face-off” held at the 10th Annual Stanford University International Symposium on Multidetector-Row CT, held at the Wynn resort in Las Vegas.

The workstation face-off posed challenges at a new level of complexity and functionality to the participants, with clinical 4 cases to be reviewed in a total of less than 20 minutes. The assigned tasks included CT Colon, CT brain perfusion, quantitative vascular analysis of significantly diseased vessels in the head and neck, simultaneous CT-PET fusion of two pairs of data (one prior pair and one follow-up pair), detection and temporal change analysis of lung nodules from a prior / follow-up pair of CT lung scans, coronary CTA analysis of real-world, sub-optimal data, and processing of a surprise case presented “cold” during the face-off, to be loaded and processed on the spot, within the allotted time... TeraRecon's Press Release -

Critical Outcome Technologies : Amalgamation With DDP Therapeutics

May 2, 2008 - Critical Outcome Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE:COT) announced that it has amalgamated with its wholly owned subsidiary, 6441513 Canada Inc, operating as DDP Therapeutics (DDP) effective May 1, 2008. DDP was acquired as announced on November 27, 2007. This amalgamation completes the process of integrating the small cell lung cancer (SCLC) molecule library of DDP with the research development operations of Critical Outcome Technologies Inc. (COTI)... [PDF] Critical Outcome Technologies' Press Release -

Dako : unique package of RTU antibodies for cancer diagnostics

Apr 24, 2008 - Dako’s new set of ready-to-use antibodies, Flex RTU, is the largest and most clinically relevant antibody portfolio on the market. It has been developed for diagnosis of the most common types of cancer (breast, colon, lung, prostate, melanoma, etc.).

With the number of patients waiting for cancer diagnosis continually on the rise, Dako works to provide pathology laboratories with workflow solutions linking knowledge, reagents, instruments and software for fast and accurate answers... Dako’s Press Release -

Med BioGene and University Health Network : Collaboration to Commercialize Critical Lung Cancer Prognostic Test

April 23, 2008 - Med BioGene Inc. (TSX Venture: MBI) and the University Health Network (UHN) announced that they have entered into license and collaboration agreements providing MBI with exclusive, world-wide rights to develop and commercialize a critical prognostic test for early stage non-small-cell lung cancer developed by UHN. The test will be marketed under MBI’s trade name LungExpress Dx™.

LungExpress Dx™ is a gene expression-based assay that provides valuable information regarding each patient’s prognosis for survival to more effectively guide treatment and improve the selection of patients for chemotherapy following surgical removal of their cancerous tumour... Med BioGene's Press Release -