Cancer research

The latest episode of the DDW Highlights podcast is now available to listen to below. DDW’s Megan Thomas narrates five key stories of the week to keep DDW subscribers up-to-date on the latest industry updates.  The news headlines this week reflect the level of interest in cell & gene therapies (CGT) in the sector, particularly CAR-T, but also […]

Research partners in the UK are progressing their orally available small molecule cancer immunotherapy drug into clinical development as a treatment for advanced solid tumours. Sosei Group and Cancer Research UK announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase I/IIa clinical trial evaluating Sosei Heptares’ immunotherapy drug HTL0039732. HTL0039732 works by blocking […]

News round-up for by DDW Digital Content Editor Diana Spencer. The news headlines this week reflect the level of interest in cell & gene therapies (CGT) in the sector, particularly CAR-T, but also the importance of research collaborations to bring these therapies to patients. Traditionally successful in treating blood cancers, it is positive to see […]

GenScript Biotech and T-MAXIMUM Biotech have formed a strategic collaboration to develop T-MAXIMUM’s CAR-T cell therapy using GenScript’s CRISPR nucleic acid reagents. GenScript will provide various CRISPR reagents to support the development of the universal CAR-T products from discovery to commercialisation. T-MAXIMUM Biotech hopes to progress multiple products to the Phase II clinical research stage […]

A new study has shown that blood thinner warfarin could also treat cancer, as it stops tumours from interfering with a self-destruct mechanism that cells initiate when they detect mutations or other abnormalities (ferroptosis). The research by Columbia University researchers was conducted in human cells and in mice to uncover molecular processes that regulate ferroptosis. […]

Reece Armstrong speaks to Neil Dhawan, the Co-founder and CEO of Totus Medicines about the company’s approach to drug discovery using fundamental technologies in chemistry, biology and artificial intelligence (AI). RA: How is Totus Medicines attempting to target untreatable or undruggable diseases? ND: Discovering a highly effective drug is like winning the lottery. If you […]

The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has granted Aleta Biotherapeutics a clinical trial authorisation (CTA) to evaluate biologic ALETA-001 in a Phase I/II clinical trial in patients with B-cell malignancies who are relapsed/refractory to CD19 CAR-T cell therapy. The company’s collaboration partner, Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Drug Development, has sponsored and […]

AstraZeneca UK has appointed David Brocklehurst as Head of Oncology in the UK. He spoke with DDW’s Megan Thomas about how AstraZeneca is innovating to displace chemotherapy and research areas of significance. MT: What will you be focusing on in your new role? DB: We have three priorities as an oncology business: supporting earlier diagnosis […]

Astex Pharmaceuticals and MSD (Merck & Co) have announced an exclusive worldwide research collaboration to identify small molecule candidates with activity towards a tumour suppressor protein for the treatment of cancer. Under the terms of the agreement, Astex will apply its fragment-based drug discovery platform to develop compounds targeting multiple forms of the p53 tumour […]

Astellas Pharma will invest $50 million into Poseida Therapeutics to secure the rights to the company’s cancer CAR-T cell therapy for solid tumours, which is currently in Phase I trials. The total $50 million will include $25 million to acquire 8,333,333 shares of common stock of Poseida and a one-time $25 million payment for first […]

The latest episode of the DDW Highlights podcast is now available to listen to below. DDW’s Megan Thomas narrates five key stories of the week to keep DDW subscribers up-to-date on the latest industry updates.  The pace of innovation in cancer drug discovery showed no signs of slowing this week, with several pretty momentous discoveries boosting research […]

News round-up for 31 July – 4 August by DDW Digital Content Editor Diana Spencer. The pace of innovation in cancer drug discovery showed no signs of slowing this week, with several pretty momentous discoveries boosting research in the sector. These include the creation of a compound that can block the spread of cancer and […]

New findings suggest PARP inhibitor drugs, used to treat cancer patients who have an altered BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, may also be effective for patients which have changes in the SF3B1 gene. If further research supports these findings, there is the potential that existing PARP inhibitor drugs such as olaparib, talazoparib and niraparib, might be […]

Renaissance Pharma has announced its first development programme focused on Hu14.18, a humanised anti-GD2 monoclonal antibody (mAb), licensed from St Jude Children’s Research Hospital for the treatment of newly diagnosed high-risk neuroblastoma. Fifty percent of neuroblastoma patients have high-risk (HRNB) disease which has an overall survival of ~50% over five years. The current standard of […]

Genoscience Pharma’s Philippe Halfon and Eric Raymond share their expertise on targeting the recycling of unsustainable production of palmitoylated cancer-associated proteins. Cancer relies on palmitoylation for progression Palmitoylation is a global post-translational lipid modification, that controls the localisation, stability, and function of several proteins. For instance, protein palmitoylation involves the covalent attachment of fatty acyl chains, […]

Scientists have unveiled the first and largest encyclopaedia of protein alterations in soft tissue sarcomas – opening the door to a new era of understanding and treatment for this group of rare cancers. The pioneering encyclopaedia, or ‘Rosetta Stone’, of sarcoma biology compiles a wealth of information that could help untangle the protein changes driving […]