Merck trumpets a global research initiative to speed cancer drugs

Merck (NYSE: MRK) has pieced together an international network of cancer research centers that will collaborate with the Big Pharma company on new and better ways to speed the development of cancer drugs and vaccines. In trumpeting the move, Merck cited a recent IOM study which concluded that half of all cancer trials were scuttled due to bureaucracy, bad procedures and poor coordination-hurdles that could be overcome through better coordination and collaboration. "By partnering at an...

Researchers make advances in understanding causes, treatments and outcomes of liver disease

NEW ORLEANS, LA (May 2, 2010) -- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which may soon be the leading indication for liver transplant, is found to be significantly associated with worse transplant outcomes.read...

Gemin X books $16M Series D as it pursues PhIIb cancer trial

Malvern, PA-based Gemin X Pharmaceuticals has rounded up $16 million in a Series D round led by two existing investors. The money will be put to use advancing the developer's new cancer therapies, which include the lead drug obatoclax (GX15-070), now in a Phase IIb study of small cell lung cancer. Caxton Advantage Life Sciences Fund LP and Sanderling Venture Partners co-led the round and have the option of injecting another $4 million into the developer at a later point. "We...

Report: U.S. cancer trials are in a state of crisis

The system used to conduct cancer clinical trials in the U.S. is "approaching a state of crisis," with waste and inefficiency creating difficulties for those wanting to undertake these studies, an Institute of Medicine report has found. The National Cancer Institute supports a network of clinical studies. The largest component of this group is the Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program. For 50 years, the program has played a key role in testing promising therapies. And...

National Cancer Institute awards PDS Biotechnology $1.28M phase 2 SBIR contract

PDS Biotechnology Corporation today announced that the company has been awarded a $1.28M phase 2 SBIR contract by the National Cancer Institute division of the US National Institutes of Health. The contract provides funding to complete studies required to file an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) with the FDA for the company's lead human papillomavirus (HPV)-cancer product late in...

Molecular imaging technique uses ultrasound and microscopic bubbles to target cancer cells

An imaging technique combining ultrasound and specially modified contrast agents may allow researchers to noninvasively detect cancer and show its progression, according to research published in the March issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM). The technique enables researchers to visualize tumor activity at the molecular...

Dietary factors influence ovarian cancer survival rates

Dietary factors influence ovarian cancer survival rates March 1, 2010 2009 estimates projected that in the United States alone 21,550 new cases of ovarian cancer would be diagnosed and 14,600 women would die of the disease. Often diagnosed in late stages, ovarian cancer has an asymptomatic onset and a relatively low 5-year survival rate of about 45%. Consequently investigation linked to survivorship is critical. A study published in the March 2010 issue of the Journal of the American...

Reliable biomarkers needed for early detection of liver cancer

While biomarkers are needed to complement ultrasound in the early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; liver cancer), neither des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) nor the most widely used biomarker, alpha fetoprotein (AFP), is optimal, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA)...

Researchers find oncogene is important in pancreatic cancer growth, spread

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida have found that PKC-iota (PKCi), an oncogene important in colon and lung cancers, is over-produced in pancreatic cancer and is linked to poor patient survival. They also found that genetically inhibiting PKCi in laboratory animals led to a significant decrease in pancreatic tumor growth and...

Wisconsin Announces Top Companies to Watch

Yesterday, Wisconsin's Department of Commerce announced their top 30 companies to watch in 2010.  The purpose of the award is to honor second-stage companies that demonstrate high performance in the marketplace, exhibit innovative products, services or processes, or otherwise make their company "worth watching."  Among these companies were numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies whose focus are chronic diseases. The list included the following: EraGen...