November 14, 2009
US FDA accepts ChemGenex's Omapro NDA filing to treat CML, grants priority review status | www.pharmabiz.com
Patients with CML have a good prognosis when treated with TKI's An exception is the ones that develope a particular mutation known as T315IOnly SCT seems to be effective in this group of patients and maybe too morbid of therapy for many patients
Triple negative Breast Cancer Strategies
October 14, 2009
MediGene completes patient recruitment into EndoTAGTM-1 phase II breast cancer trial | www.pharmabiz.com
Triple negative Breast cancer has been a phenotype with little hope up until recentlyWhile advances in hormonal therapy and Her2 blocking agents has revolutionized ER/PR + and Her 2 positive breast cancer therapy, triple negative breast cancer pulls down the outcomes, with similar responses as for non small cell lung cancer
Farletuzumab (F) helps the ovarian cancer patients that do well, do well?
September 25, 2009
Farletuzumab Data Presented on Phase II Clinical Trial in First-Relapsed Ovarian Cancer Subjects | www.pipelinereview.com
F recently demonstrated a great majority of platinum sensitive patients respond when given in combination with a platinum based regimen in recurrent ovarian caPlatinum sensitive patients typically do well with platinum based intervention, but it's the platinum resistant ( denovo or delayed) that we have a problem with
Herceptin for Her2 + gastric cancer, If you can find one
September 25, 2009
Roche's Herceptin provides impressive survival benefit in HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer | www.pharmabiz.com
Herceptin recently reported in Phase II ASCo data to enhance chemo in Her 2 positive gastric cancer
REGORAFENIB joins a crowd of TKI's for RCC
September 25, 2009
Bayer's anti-cancer drug regorafenib shows stabilization or regression in 81% of kidney cancer patients | www.pharmabiz.com
RCC now has multiple TKI"S either approved or in development for txThe disease control rate seems to be a popular and effective endpoint to get drugs for RCC approved
Pay for performance Medicare "reform"
May 4, 2009
Medicare System Overhaul Proposed by Two Senators | www.nytimes.com
Medicare will reward based on outcome Medicare will pay for chronic illness acre based on outcome results Be careful about heading towards cancer care rationing
February 27, 2009
Intas Biopharma to market Pemetrexed in India soon | www.pharmabiz.com
Alimta has been approved as upfront treatemnt of NSCLCA with platinum Alimta approved US as single agent salvage treatment NSCLCa Market share IN US hsa been crowded out by other platinum combinations
tarceva adds to avastin but avastin doesn't add to tarceva?
February 17, 2009
OSI, Genentech Say Cancer Drug’s Benefits Ends Trial (Update2) | www.bloomberg.com
Beta lung demonstrated no benefit of adding avastin to tarceva as second line advanced lung cancer therapy Atals trial demonstrates adding tarceva to avastin after chemo in advanced lung cancer does benefit
More may or may not be better in colorectal cancer
February 6, 2009
Chemotherapy, Bevacizumab, and Cetuximab in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer | nejm.highwire.org
Recent trial such as PACE and CAIRO imply combo biologics are not helpful Is it likely this will hold true in future situations?
Plitidepsin ( Aplidin) helps in PTCL patients
January 19, 2009
PharmaMar announces the extension of Phase II trial with Aplidin(R) in Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma after the excellent preliminary results | www.pipelinereview.com
New drug plitidepsin has anti tumor effects in PTCL patients PTCL is a relatively rare NHL form of NHL Plitidepsin has much more financial potential outside of NHL
What is potential future for Sequenom in prenatal testing.
November 9, 2009
November 7, 2009
Express Scripts feeling Growing Pains
October 29, 2009
CDC Outlines H1N1 Test Guidelines
October 8, 2009
Why Health Care Costs Keep Rising—And What to Do About It
September 13, 2009