A pill designed to zero in on abnormal genes that drive specific cancers has produced encouraging early results in children with an uncommon but aggressive type of lymphoma, as well as in children with a rare form of neuroblastoma.
A phase 1 clinical trial of the drug crizotinib achieved remissions, with minimal side effects, for 10 of the children participating in a clinical study carried out by the multicenter Children’s Oncology Group (COG). The results were “an exciting proof-of-principle” for the targeted treatment, said the study leader, Yaël P. Mossé, M.D., a pediatric oncologist at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
“We are entering a new era of cancer therapy, in which we use knowledge of basic biology to design very specific drugs that target cancer cells with potentially less side effects on healthy tissue,” said Mossé. “In addition, as we concentrate on targets in molecular pathways, we move away from an exclusive focus on one form of cancer to customizing treatments according to biological activity. Abnormal ALK activity occurs in subtypes of neuroblastoma and subtypes of lymphoma, so identifying ALK activity in individual patients may enable us to provide the most effective care.”
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/50776-childrens-hospital-philadelphia-lymphoma-neuroblastoma-oncology-gene-trial
Janssen-Cilag International NV (Janssen) announced today that the European Commission has approved IMBRUVICA™ (ibrutinib) capsules, a first-in-class, once-daily, oral Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor. This new approach to treating blood cancers works by blocking BTK, a protein that helps certain cancer cells live and grow.1 IMBRUVICA is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), or adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) who have received at least one prior therapy, or in first line in the presence of 17p deletion or TP53 mutation in patients unsuitable for chemo-immunotherapy.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/72762540-janssen-ec-approval-imbruvica-mcl-cll/
Significant advances toward cures for blood cancer patients, many of which were funded by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) over the past 65 years, are among the dramatic highlights featured in Ken Burns presents CANCER: THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES, a film by Barak Goodman, to air on PBS stations nationwide from March 30-April 1. The documentary series is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer.
LLS has been a driving force behind treatment breakthroughs for patients with blood cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. As the world’s largest voluntary health agency dedicated to finding cures for blood cancer patients, LLS has invested more than $1billion in research to advance lifesaving treatments and cures.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7409151-lls-cancer-research-pbs-series/
Every three minutes someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer. No one knows this better than “Nashville” star Charles Esten and his wife Patty. Esten’s 15-year-old daughter, Addie, was diagnosed with leukemia at age 2 ½. Naturally, their world was turned upside down. But, they quickly learned that there was hope, based on research to advance new treatments and cures for leukemia, much of it funded by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7491051-charles-esten-light-the-night-walks/
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), the world’s leading voluntary non-profit dedicated to blood cancers, released 30 “proof points” - one for each day of September, Blood Cancer Awareness Month - to demonstrate its impact on the cancer landscape and progress towards a world without blood cancers.
LLS has invested more than $1 billion in research to advance breakthrough therapies and cures for blood cancer patients. In many cases, those treatments are now helping patients with other cancers and chronic diseases. Due to its focus on blood cancers, survival rates are improving. Since the early 1960s, five-year survival rates for many blood cancer patients have doubled, tripled and even quadrupled.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7554851-lls-blood-cancer-awareness-month/
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) today announced it has committed $28.6 million in new research investment to advance the most promising blood cancer science at leading academic and medical institutions around the world, including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College and MD Anderson Cancer Center. As LLS leads the charge to find cures for cancer patients, this new funding, along with ongoing investment in LLS’s aggressive research agenda, brings LLS’s total commitment to blood cancer research to more than $1 billion. The investment has led to the development of nearly every therapy currently used to treat the blood cancers.
Along with these new research grants, LLS remains committed to collaborating with biotechnology companies through its innovative Therapy Acceleration Program® (TAP), a model pioneered by LLS in the cancer arena in recognition that traditional research approaches weren’t yielding treatments and cures fast enough for patients. LLS commits approximately $13 million a year to its TAP initiatives. As part of the 24 current such collaborations, LLS recently initiated new investments with Kite Pharma and OncoPep.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7554852-lls-cancer-research-funding/
Team In Training. Light The Night. Man & Woman of the Year. Student Series. Leukemia Cup Regatta. More than 13 million participants in these popular fundraising campaigns last year alone helped The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) invest more than $1 billion in research to advance lifesaving treatments and cures for blood cancer patients.
For Blood Cancer Awareness Month this September, LLS is reminding us that despite progress, much work still needs to be done to save more lives. More than 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living with or in remission from a blood cancer. Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children, adolescents and adults younger than 20 years. Leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma are expected to cause the deaths of an estimated 58,320 people in the U.S. in 2016.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7554853-lls-blood-cancer-awareness-month/
Going on the offensive against one of the most daunting challenges in cancer, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) today announced the launch of a groundbreaking, collaborative clinical trial for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a deadly disease which has seen few improvements in treatments in more than 40 years.
Beat AML was announced yesterday by Vice President Biden, along with many new, Moonshot inspired initiatives across industry, non-profit and government.
AML is the most lethal of the blood cancers, which together are the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S.; AML is responsible for more than 10,000 deaths each year. Despite advances in treating other blood cancers, the standard of treatment for AML – a combination of toxic chemotherapies – has remained the same for more than 40 years. Overall prognosis remains poor, with a five-year survival rate below 20 percent for patients over age 60.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7554854-lls-beat-aml-acute-myeloid-leukemia/
Blood cancers are the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. However, many Americans are unaware of the impact of these cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, which affect the bone marrow, the blood cells, the lymph nodes and other parts of the lymphatic system.
A new survey commissioned by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) reveals more than four in five adults (82%) are surprised that blood cancers are the third leading cancer killer of Americans. Further, nearly four in five adults (78%) are surprised that acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is the most common cancer in children and young adults under age 20.
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8128551-lls-blood-cancer-awareness-month/
As breakthroughs in cancer treatments are occurring at an ever increasing rate, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is shining a spotlight on the women in science who are helping to lead these advances.
Through its significant investment in cancer research – more than $1.2 billion since its founding nearly 70 years ago – LLS is committed to funding and recognizing female scientists, physicians, social workers and nurses, and encouraging young women to participate in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and pursue careers in the sciences.
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8128552-lls-women-in-science/
The sixth annual Productive Innovation Index released by IDEA Pharma today, which ranks biopharmaceutical companies by their ability to successfully bring innovations to market, sees Johnson & Johnson top the industry for the fourth year running.
The Productive Innovation Index measures, scores and celebrates a company’s ability to deliver innovation to patients, by objectively evaluating performance data based on a rolling five year period (2010-2015), and operates on the premise: if you gave the same molecule to two different companies in early phase, which would make the best of it?
The success of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson and its consolidation of 1st place across the past four years’ rankings is driven largely by innovations in the field of oncology, immunology, neuroscience and cardiovascular/metabolism. Notable performers include Zytiga® (prostate cancer), Imbruvica® (chronic lymphocytic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma (co-developed and co-marketed with Pharmacyclics, an AbbVie company)), Simponi®/Simponi Aria® (rheumatoid arthritis), Stelara® (psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis), Invega Sustenna® and Invega Trinza® (schizophrenia).
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7770851-johnson-and-johnson-tops-idea-pharma/
Today, WebMD released Path to a Breakthrough, a five-part original video series developed in partnership with Robin Roberts and her independent production company, Rock’n Robin Productions. Through compelling patient stories and insights from medical experts, Path to a Breakthrough sheds light on how medical innovations, including Precision Medicine, Immunotherapy, and Biologics, are providing doctors with powerful new tools to treat disease, alleviate symptoms, and in some cases, reverse the course of debilitating illness.
In this extraordinary new series, WebMD and Roberts share the stories of Cara, a 4-year-old girl who lost, then regained her ability to walk from the clues hidden in her genetic makeup; Trevor, a man diagnosed with stage IV Lymphoma in the prime of his life, and the doctor who helped him harness his own immune system for a nontoxic cancer treatment; Kevin, whose pain from dirt bike racing injuries was nothing compared to the excruciating pain of Rheumatoid Arthritis; Falisha, whose life-changing diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis was alleviated by biologics; and Rebecca, whose debilitating Psoriasis led to blindness.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7579754-webmd-path-to-a-breakthrough/
