Tumours

SpringWorks Therapeutics’ Ogsiveo (nirogacestat) has become the first drug to be approved for desmoid tumours in the US, following the go-ahead from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Desmoid tumours are non-cancerous but can be locally aggressive. Although surgical removal has historically been the treatment of choice, there is a high risk that the […]

iOnctura, a clinical-stage biotech developing selective cancer therapies against targets that play critical roles in multiple tumour survival pathways, has published new research data in the peer-reviewed journal Cancer Research, that supports a strategy of combining autotaxin inhibitor IOA-289 with TGF-β pathway inhibitor IOA-359.   Resistance to TGF‐β pathway inhibition The research, generated in collaboration […]

Ariceum Therapeutics, a private biotech company developing radiopharmaceutical products for the diagnosis and treatment of certain hard-to-treat cancers, has acquired Theragnostics, a UK-based private biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of radio-labelled PARP inhibitors for the diagnosis and treatment of tumours.  The acquisition provides Ariceum with an expanded portfolio of therapeutic and diagnostic assets in […]

AI company Absci and St John’s Cancer Institute (SJCI) have entered a partnership to uncover breakthrough cancer therapies.   The companies will use Absci’s Integrated Drug Creation platform, which combines generative AI models and proprietary wet-lab technologies, and SJCI’s cancer biospecimen repository and molecular database to identify new therapeutic candidates with a higher probability of clinical […]

DDW Editor Reece Armstrong explores recent research looking into why cancer cells are so effective at avoiding the body’s immune system. Scientists may have discovered clues to why cancer cells can avoid the body’s immune system in a study conducted by researchers at Harvard Medical School. For years now, scientists have been trying to understand […]

Mersana Therapeutics and a subsidiary of Merck have entered a research collaboration to discover novel Immunosynthen antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) directed against up to two targets.  Under the terms of the agreement, Mersana will develop novel ADC product candidates against up to two targets utilising its Immunosynthen platform to conjugate proprietary antibodies from Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, […]

The acidity of tumours impairs the effectiveness of anti-cancer therapies, according to a new study that could lead to a new generation of immunotherapy treatments.  Tumours have a more acidic environment (pH 6.5) than normal, healthy tissues (pH 7.2). New research has shown for the first time that this acidity blocks the activities of cytokines. […]

Triumvira Immunologics has revealed positive clinical data from its ongoing TACTIC‑2 Phase I/II trial of TAC01-HER2 in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive solid tumours.  These interim data demonstrate that TAC01-HER2 is well-tolerated and clinical activity was observed in the two higher dosing cohorts, with a 67% disease control rate in cohort […]

Not only is October Breast Cancer Awareness Month but October 21 is Wear it Pink 2022, Breast Cancer Now’s annual fundraising day. While advances in treatment over the last few years have resulted in good overall survival rates for patients with non-metastatic disease (90% five-year survival rate in the US1), outcomes are still poor in […]

Ayala Pharmaceuticals has revealed positive interim results from its ongoing RINGSIDE Pivotal Phase II and III clinical trial into gamma-secretase inhibitor AL102 in desmoid tumours. The findings were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2022 by Professor Robin Jones, MD, Head of the Sarcoma Unit at The Royal Marsden Hospital, London. […]

Sonia Marsilio is an Associate Product Manager at Enzo. She explains how research tools enable scientists to accelerate immunotherapy.  The growing, continuously evolving arsenal of cancer immunotherapies has changed the treatment landscape of many tumours. Dominating the space are the CAR T cell therapies, with CD19, BCMA, and CD22 as the top targets for haematological malignancies and undisclosed tumour-associated antigen […]

MiNA Therapeutics has dosed the first patient in a global Phase II clinical trial (OUTREACH-2) of MTL-CEBPA in combination with second line standard of care sorafenib (a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)) in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC or liver cancer).  What is OUTREACH-2?  OUTREACH-2 is a multi-centre, open-label, randomised study of MTL-CEBPA in combination with sorafenib, compared to sorafenib […]

Dompé Farmaceutici has entered a strategic collaboration with and investment in Engitix as part of Engitix’s $54m Series A financing to support identification of new treatments against fibrosis and liver-associated solid tumours.  The agreement   Dompé will provide direct access to facilities, resources and expertise including its Exscalate structure-based drug design platform which can design new molecules following the rules of rational drug design to obtain […]

Avacta has added the next pre|CISION drug candidate to its portfolio. AVA3996, has been selected for pre-clinical development with a view to a first-in-human Phase I clinical trial beginning in the second half of 2023.  The technology  Avacta’s chemistry is used to modify chemotherapy drugs to render them inactive in the circulation until they enter the tumour micro-environment where they are […]

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, UCL, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute of Cancer Research, London have developed a computer model to analyse how the way in which tumours grow affects their genetic makeup. Using this new model, they have identified links between tumour growth and shape, and how quickly a […]

According to new results published as a correspondence in Cancer Cell, nearly 100% of cancer patients with solid tumours have antibodies effective against the Delta variant after a third dose of Covid-19 vaccine.  What does this mean?  The new findings highlight a proportion of patients with blood cancers who still have undetectable antibody levels against Delta after three doses, […]