GLG News by Urologic Oncologists (US)

This is the 4th in its class of oral antiemetics to control acute phase CINV.  It is likely to be cost-prohibitive in the company of generical ondansetron.  Palonosetron's control of delayed CINV in the IV formulation makes it the better choice among it's class; therefore, losing this indication...

1) This article is a bit confusing as in the beginning it refers to hormone sensitive disease,when in fact,later in the text,it is the HRPC(hormone refracory prostate cancer) cells that are targetted. 2)That being said,the mechanism of action and animal data look interesting and certainly worth pursuing...

Prior studies had suggested an improvement in survival when calcitriol was added to weekly docetaxel. The premature closure of this study ocurred due to an increased death rate in patients receiving the combination of weekly docetaxel compared to q 21 day docetaxel. Faulty trial design, and not necessarily...

Torisel is a prodrug of Rapamune, Wyeth's marketed immunosuppressant product.  It is possible that cost concerns could lead to use of Rapamune as a "poor man's substitute" for Torisel.

The Satraplatin trial used an unusual endpoint, and the results may not be as good as they appear at first glance.

This is another example where a phase III trial was conducted despite minimal evidence of efficacy in phase II.

1. Herceptin is one of the favorite drugs used by oncologists2. Optimal schedule and length is not clear3. Role of additional testing is not established4. Competition is around the corner

Implications: 1. Drug will be delayed further2. Abraxane and Epothilone B will be approved. 3. If management understood that approach of early 80s does not work now, the drug would be available on market years ago.  

1. The first working drug will not be approved because it is too expensive.2. Narrow indication: never smoker, EGFR (+) would likely be approved if submitted, but that would establish the precedent and affect many other drugs3. US regulatory authorities may follow suite.