國際新聞精選周五（2017年3月31日）

2017年3月31日 | Filed under: | Posted by: 編輯 D

Deworming pill may be effective in treating liver cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a cancer associated with underlying liver disease and cirrhosis that often only becomes symptomatic when it is very advanced, is the second leading cause of cancer deaths around the world, and yet it has no effective treatment.

As with other conditions without treatments, the data that scientists need to understand and treat the disease may be sitting in plain view in databases that have barely been analyzed, says Atul Butte, MD, PhD, director of the Institute for Computational Health Sciences at UC San Francisco.【閱讀全文】

Third Rock’s Tango Aims For Drugs That Turn Cancer Against Itself

As the understanding of cancer advances, scientists are discovering built-in features of the disease’s own biology that can be tapped to halt its growth. Biotech startup Tango Therapeutics believes it can build on this concept to develop new cancer drugs, and it is now unveiling its approach, backed by $55 million in financing.【閱讀全文】

Incyte cash boost not enough to stave off major Agenus cuts

After Incyte and Agenus retooled their R&D pact last month, which gave the biotech access to some quick cash, it appeared that something was amiss; today, Agenus said it will be closing its Basel site; “consolidate” key functions to its Cambridge, U.K., and Lexington, Massachusetts, facilities, and “phase out” around 50 staffers from across its biz by the fall.【閱讀全文】

LAM Therapeutics Announces Close of $58M Series C Financing and New Clinical Program in Cancer

LAM Therapeutics, a 4Catalyzer company that develops drugs for cancer and rare diseases, announced that it has closed $58M in Series C financing. 4Catalyzer is Connecticut's premier biotechnology incubator and has raised over a quarter billion dollars to support its current class of startups.【閱讀全文】

Halozyme's PEGPH20 shows no incremental survival benefit in pancreatic cancer study; shares down 11% premarket

Halozyme (NASDAQ:HALO) slumps 11% premarket on average volume in response to its announcement that a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial assessing PEGPH20, plus modified FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy, in treatment-naive patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer would be unlikely to show an increase in overall survival (the primary endpoint) compared to FOLIFIRINOX alone. The assessment was made by an independent network of researchers called SWOG.【閱讀全文】

Orphan status for GW’s rare epilepsy drug

London, UK-based GW Pharmaceuticals’ cannabinoid Epidiolex has been awarded Orphan status by European regulators as a treatment for Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS), a rare and severe form of childhood-onset epilepsy.【閱讀全文】

ALK Inhibitors in ALK+ Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

In an indirect comparison, brigatinib appeared to have greater efficacy than alectinib or ceritinib in ALK+ non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a poster presented at the 2017 Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association Annual Conference.【閱讀全文】

Ignyta Announces Peer-Reviewed Publication of Activity of a TRK Inhibitor in a Primary Brain Tumor: Successful Treatment of Glioneuronal Tumor With Pan-TRK, CNS-Active Inhibitor Entrectinib Published in Precision Oncology

Ignyta, Inc. (Nasdaq: RXDX), a biotechnology company focused on precision medicine in oncology, today announced data demonstrating the successful treatment with entrectinib – Ignyta’s investigational, orally available, CNS-active tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting tumors that harbor TRK, ROS1 or ALK fusions – of a patient with a primary brain tumor harboring an NTRK1 fusion. The study, exploring genetic alterations associated with glioneuronal tumors, was led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and was published in Precision Oncology. 【閱讀全文】

Merck KGaA disses Ocrevus-Rebif price comparison as 'misleading and oversimplified' | FiercePharma

Roche surprised industry watchers on Tuesday when it placed a $65,000 list price on multiple sclerosis blockbuster-to-be Ocrevus, sparking comparisons with a more expensive—and less effective, according to trial data—Merck KGaA rival. But it's a comparison the German drugmaker doesn't much care for.【閱讀全文】

Merck KGaA disses Ocrevus-Rebif price comparison as 'misleading and oversimplified'

Fresh turmoil inside Novartis’ revamped CAR-T organization as top exec jumps ship
There’s more turmoil to report from inside Novartis’ CAR-T camp.
On Friday Karen Walker will leave a senior position in charge of CMC/manufacturing of CAR-Ts for Novartis in exchange for a new position she’s taking at Seattle Genetics, Endpoints News has learned.【閱讀全文】