GLG News by Physicians who Treat Malignant Melanoma (US)

 The submission of Reloxin to the FDA is a positive sign for both Ipsen and Medicis. The market will only grow with the impending approval, and the launch of a competitor to Botox may result in some softening of pricing both to physicians and the end consumer. The two studies that have been done...

“On face value the data look very good,” said Buzdar, who voted with the slim (5-4) majority against the drug. In the study that was the basis of Genentech’s application, Avastin appeared to slow the progress of the disease. advanced breast cancer who had already tried other drugs. He said he’s never...

Meyer Pharmaceutical acquisition of a NF-kB decoy is interesting in that this would be the first new technology in this area since the topical immunomodulators like Protopic/ Elidel were released. The preliminary work looks good, and phase 2 trials in both atopic dermatitis and psoriasis would be necessary...

Uveal melanoma, although similar histologically to the more common cutaneous melanoma, is virtually a completely different disease. Once metastatic, it has failed to respond to any form of systemic therapy, even those with some (albeit limited) efficacy in "standard" melanoma. Its relative rarity and...

This press release discusses Phase IIa results from a novel melanoma vaccine in a small group of patients with various levels of melanoma. Only 22 patients were treated in this study that began about two years ago. Fourteen patients developed specific activation of cytotoxic T cells that recognize...

This study is interesting because it uses gene expression profile data to choose the tumor target. Specifically, preclinical work looking at PARP expression in various tumor types identified that breast cancers negative for estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 expression were much more likely to overexpress...

CombinatoRx new combination product- CRx-191 is intriguing in that it combines a topical steroid with nortryptiline to minimize the negative effects of the steroid and make it more potent. This would be useful in that higher potency topical steroids are more effective, but cause more thinning of the...

M-Vax, an autologous tumor vaccine modified by treatment with HNP, has been proposed as a potential treatment for advanced melanoma. Prior trials that I am aware of were non-randomized and therefore could not be compared to other types of therapy. The majority of the earlier trials were in Stage III...

Varian and Elekta's new arc treatments improve workflow, efficiency, and give radiation oncologists a better alternative to tomotherapy.    

The recently announced collaboartion between Stiefel and Allergan in regards to Tazorac is very positive. Stiefel needs this molecule to put into different dosage forms, and in combination with its existing products espoecially Duac, etc. Their current acne product line is strong, but this will solodify...