Cancer Research

Orphan Drug Designation granted for treatment of leukaemia  

13 January 2022

Otsuka Pharmaceutical and Astex Pharmaceuticals’ oral fixed dose combination of decitabine and cedazuridine (ASTX727) for the treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML)1 has been granted orphan-drug designation (ODD) by the European Commission (EC).  What is ALM?  AML is the most common form of acute leukaemia in adults2. Within Europe, there is an increase in the incidence […]

The evolving immuno-oncology landscape 

5 January 2022

Dr Ian Walters, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Portage Biotech, shares how to find the path of least resistance through the immuno-oncology landscape.  Our bodies are naturally trained to identify and remove abnormal cells, including those that are cancerous. Under normal circumstances, a person’s immune system detects proteins on the surface of cancer cells and targets them for elimination. The main cells of the immune system that kill […]

Phase I clinical study begins for patients with advanced liver cancer 

2 December 2021

The National University Cancer Institute, Singapore (NCIS) and MiNA Therapeutics have dosed the first patients in an investigator-sponsored Phase I study of MiNA’s small activating RNA oligonucleotide, MTL-CEBPA, in combination with first-line standard of care, atezolizumab and bevacizumab, in patients with previously untreated, advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Atezolizumab and bevacizumab are being provided by F. Hoffmann-La Roche (Roche), who […]

FDA approves Avacta’s new cancer therapy drug

1 December 2021

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Avacta’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for AVA6000, which will allow the group to expand its Phase I clinical trial, ALS-6000-101, into clinical trial sites in the United States.  What is AVA6000?  AVA6000 is a novel form of doxorubicin that has been modified with Avacta’s pre|CISION platform to improve its safety […]

Does Hepatitis B virus support the survival and growth of liver cancer? 

29 November 2021

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and Universidade de Santiago de Compostela have identified how the hepatitis B virus (HBV) can support the survival and growth of liver cancer, with this process starting early in tumour development, in some instances up to 20 years before cancer diagnosis.  Context  Around 240 million people around the world are infected with HBV. […]

Agreement to launch breakthrough cancer immunotherapy treatment

25 November 2021

Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies and Immunicom have signed a co-commercialisation agreement to help advance a cancer therapy that selectively removes immune inhibitors from a patient’s bloodstream.   What will this achieve?  This potentially enables the patient’s immune system to more effectively attack cancer tumours. In contrast to immunotherapy pharmaceuticals that introduce foreign compounds into a patient’s body, which often […]

Inside combination immunotherapies for cancer 

25 November 2021

Combination immunotherapies are one of the most exciting advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMP) being developed, with incredible potential for treating cancer, says Panagiotis Parsonidis, a molecular biologist and lead researcher at RGCC. DDW speaks to him about VAXO-Q-RE developments, a combination immunotherapy that will soon enter clinical trials.  VAXO-Q-RE is an advanced combination immunotherapy that consists of […]

Accelerating research: the path forward for treating rare cancers 

22 November 2021

RareCan is a new company based in the UK. Its aim is to accelerate research into rare cancers. However, finding suitable patients willing to take part in research and trials of new drugs is difficult, which impacts the discovery process. Professor Andy Hall, Founding Director and Chief Scientific Officer at RareCan talks to DDW’s Megan Thomas.  MT: Could you explain […]

Scottish milestone for potential lung cancer treatment 

15 November 2021

AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso (osimertinib) has been accepted for restricted use within NHS Scotland by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) for the treatment of early-stage lung cancer.   Osimertinib will be used as monotherapy for the adjuvant treatment after complete tumour resection in adult patients with stage IB-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumours have epidermal growth factor (EGFR) exon 19 deletions or […]

Why we are on the cusp of a golden age of medicine 

2 November 2021

Panna Sharma is the President and CEO of Lantern Pharma, a clinical-stage oncology biotech using AI and genomics to innovate the rescue, revitalisation, and development of precision cancer therapeutics. Lu Rahman spoke to the man behind this biotech to find out why he believes AI is about to change the drug development landscape.  Lantern Pharma is […]

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