Off-Label marketing & Self-desctructing cancer cells in the news

Off-Label Marketing Is Free Speech, Court Rules.

In continuing coverage, the American Medical News (12/24, Gallegos) reported, "The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Dec. 3 ruled that blocking drug companies from promoting truthful statements about off-label drug uses violates the First Amendment," clearing the way for so-called "off-label marketing." The Medical News notes that "some medical experts are concerned that the court decision will encourage drug companies to mislead physicians about the benefits of their medications."

Pharma Companies Target Self-Destructing Cancer Cells.

On its front page, the New York Times (12/23, A1, Kolata, Subscription Publication) reported that Merck, Roche, and Sanofi are about to conduct tests for what "many scientists see...as the beginning of a new genetic age in cancer research." The pharmaceutical companies will investigate "whether new drugs can work against a wide range of cancers" by targeting "an aberration involving a cancer gene fundamental to tumor growth." The tests will be the first of their kind and "great uncertainties remain," but all three companies "are racing to develop their own versions of a drug they hope will restore a mechanism that normally makes badly damaged cells self-destruct and could potentially be used against half of all cancers."

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National Health Service to Map DNA of Up to 100,000 Patients

Effort to focus on cancer in hopes of accelerating diagnosis, improving treatment, and sparking innovation.

 

SHERYL P. DENKER

The Burrill Report

“Understanding and harnessing genetic information offers huge potential to target effective treatments and develop new treatments and cures.”

 

The United Kingdom’s National Health Service says it will map the DNA of up to 100,000 patients with cancer and other rare diseases over the next three to five years at a cost of $162 million (£100 million).

“Britain has often led the world in scientific breakthroughs and medical innovations, from the first CT scan and test-tube baby through to decoding DNA,” says Prime Minister David Cameron, “and Britain should become the first country to introduce genetic sequencing to its mainstream health service.”

New Combinations to Fight Cancer

Data from experiments using 5,000 different pairings of approved drugs will be made available.

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute have tested 5,000 different combinations of 100 approved cancer drugs in the hope of finding new pairings that could ultimately provide patients with more effective and safer treatments.

Scientists in the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis at the National Cancer Institute completed some 300,000 experiments aimed at testing all possible combinations of every currently approved small molecule cancer drug in the United States.

continue:
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-new_combinations_to_fight_cancer.html

Breast Cancer Study Points to Personalized Treatments

Whole genome scanning tested for clinical decision making.

DANIEL S. LEVINE

The Burrill Report

“The French consortium has opened a new door to more personalized treatment of advanced breast cancer.”

A first-of-its-kind, large scale trial of whole genome cancer testing to personalize treatment for patients with metastatic breast cancer finds in 20 percent of the cases uncovered rare and unexpected genomic activity and argues it’s time to make this approach a clinical standard.

A French research consortium presented the findings from their study at the 2012 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Vienna. The results were based on biopsies performed in 402 breast cancer patients, including 26 patients for whom analyses are ongoing.

for complete article:
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-breast_cancer_study_points_to_personalized_treatments.html

Programmable Nanomedicine Cancer Treatment Shrinks Human Tumors

Scientists have spent the past few decades tinkering with nanopaticles, and recently they have been able to cover them with cancer-seeking proteins and load them with a tumor-busting drug. But these tiny particles, hundreds of which could fit across the width of a human hair, have so far failed to perform in humans.

A new tumor-targeting, nanoparticle-based compound called BIND-014 is now in clinical trials in people, after showing promise in both mice and monkeys. Although this first trial is small, with only 17 patients, and still ongoing, researchers are reporting some positive results, and no obvious major safety setbacks, according to a paper published online April 4 in Science Translational Medicine.

for complete article in Scientific American Blog:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/04/04/programmable-nanomedicine-cancer-treatment-shrinks-human-tumors/