Cancer Research

PARIS, June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott announced new data from the open-label extension of the ATLAS (Adalimumab Trial Evaluating Long-Term Efficacy and Safety in AS) phase III clinical trial, which showed HUMIRA(R) (adalimumab) reduced the signs and symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) for up to three years of treatment among 74 percent of patients tested. AS is a type of arthritis that primarily causes inflammation of the spine and the spinal joints. These data were presented at the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) annual meeting in Paris. "There is no cure for ankylosing…

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, June 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Axelar AB today announced that the company has received financing from Östersjöstiftelsen (the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies) and Karolinska Development AB to perform a Phase I/II clinical trial with the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) receptor inhibitor AXL1717 on cancer patients. Globally more than 12 million people are diagnosed with cancer every year. Cancer is causing the death of about 8 million people per year. Although a number of cancer drugs successfully have been launched over the last decade, many cancers still…

In a report in the current issue of the journal Cell, Dr. Hugo Bellen and colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine along with Dr. Michael Miller from the University of Alabama at Birmingham show how a single mutation in the human form of the VAMP-Associated Protein B (VAPB) contributes to the nerve and muscle breakdown in flies and worms, similar to ALS in humans. They found important clues about what goes wrong in the nerves and muscles of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. The story actually begins around 500 years ago, when a Portuguese…

PRINCETON, New Jersey, June 11 /PRNewswire/ -- BioWa, Inc. announced today that it has licensed its POTELLIGENT(R) Technology to Novartis for the development of antibody therapeutics with enhanced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). The license provides Novartis with access to BioWa's POTELLIGENT(R) Technology platform to research, develop, manufacture, and commercialize ADCC-enhanced antibodies for an undisclosed number of targets. In return, BioWa will receive license fees, development milestone payments and royalties on products developed by Novartis. Additional terms were…

The proteins upon which life depends share an attribute with paper airplanes: Unless folded properly, they just won't fly. But researchers have been puzzled by how the long, linear proteins cranked out by the ribosome factories in a cell are folded into the shapes they must assume to perform their function. They only have known that for many of the most complex and essential proteins, the folding takes place out of sight, hidden in the inner cavity of a type of molecule called a chaperonin. Now Stanford researchers have begun prying open the lid, literally, on the inner workings of chaperonin…

BASEL, Switzerland, June 11 /PRNewswire/ -- - Data Published in the British Journal of Cancer Reports That NeoRecormon use has no Negative Impact on Overall Survival or Tumour Progression A new meta-analysis of all 12 prospective, randomised, controlled studies in 2,301 cancer patients shows that treating anaemia with NeoRecormon(R) (epoetin beta) has no negative impact on survival, tumour progression or deaths caused by blood clots, when used within its approved indications (1). These encouraging results reported in the British Journal of Cancer, June 2008, showed no new safety concerns…

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- - Merck Serono to Commercialize Portfolio of Established Pharmaceutical Medicines From Bristol-Myers Squibb in Latin America Merck Serono (NYSE: SRA), a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, announced today the signing of a distribution agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) for a portfolio of established pharmaceutical brands in Latin America. Under the terms of this agreement, Merck Serono acquires the exclusive rights to market, sell and distribute more than 30 prescription medicines, in particular in the CardioMetabolic…

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- - A Decade Dedicated to Helping People With Multiple Sclerosis - Extensive Research and Development Activities Underscore Long-Term Commitment to Improving the Lives of People With Multiple Sclerosis Merck's Serono's Rebif(R) (interferon beta-1a) is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Since receiving approval for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) 10 years ago in the European Union, as well as in Canada and Switzerland, Rebif(R) has become a foundation therapy for MS. "The introduction of Rebif(R) was a…

Seeing images inside the body is nothing new, either with an endoscope or even a camera the size of a candy. In the case of a camera, the inside of the intestine can be seen as it makes its way through the intestine and transmits images of the intestinal villi to an external receiver which the patient carries on a belt. This device stores the data so that the physician can later analyze them and identify any hemorrhages or cysts. However, that sort of camera is not suitable for examinations of the esophagus and the stomach because it only takes about three or four seconds to make its way…

HANOI, Vietnam, June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- QIAGEN was featured this week for its efforts to eliminate cervical cancer at the 14th annual Global Summit of Women in Hanoi, Vietnam. CEO Peer Schatz came to this prominent international platform to issue a call to other leaders in business, NGOs and governments to join him and campaign to create a cervical-cancer-free world. "Nearly 500,000 women around the world are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year - a shocking number considering that it's a highly preventable disease," Mr. Schatz told ministers from more than 60 countries at a roundtable…