Preclinical News and Research

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NeoRx Corporation acquires worldwide rights to platinum-based anti-cancer agent

NeoRx Corporation today announced that it has acquired from AnorMED Inc. the worldwide exclusive rights, excluding Japan, to develop, manufacture and commercialize AMD473, a platinum-based anti-cancer agent. AMD473 has been administered to more than 500 cancer patients in phase I and phase II clinical trials, demonstrating anti-cancer activity in a wide range of tumors and a manageable safety profile. NeoRx expects to initiate clinical studies of AMD473 in one or more cancer indications in the second half of this year.

5 Apr 2004

Oxford Biomedica to win Department of Health gene funding

Oxford spinout Oxford Biomedica was yesterday awarded £0.5 million by the Department of Health to conduct the first British gene therapy haemophilia trial.

31 Mar 2004

GenVec malaria vaccine initiative and the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center has announced partnership for malaria vaccine

GenVec, Inc., PATH's Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), and the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) today announced a dynamic partnership to assess whether five malaria antigens, or proteins, can generate strong immune responses alone or in combination. This partnership will advance and expand the ongoing malaria vaccine development program between GenVec and NMRC. Malaria is one of the world's three leading infectious disease killers.

31 Mar 2004

Discovery of gender difference in cartilage cells may help spinal disc repair

When biologist Barbara Boyan discovered science’s first proof of biochemical differences between male and female cartilage cells, she began to question the approaches she and other researchers were taking to study cells. Was their thinking biologically relevant?

30 Mar 2004

Genencor Sells Its Therapeutic Vaccine Program to Innogenetics

Genencor International, Inc. today announced that it has agreed to sell its therapeutic vaccine program to Belgian biotechnology company Innogenetics N.V. Innogenetics will develop and commercialize current product candidates in Genencor’s vaccine product portfolio as well as future products based on intellectual property and technology held by Genencor.

30 Mar 2004

Data on pre-clinical activity of satraplatin in prostate cancer to be released

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc has announced that new data on pre-clinical activity of satraplatin in prostate cancer cell lines are being presented at the 95th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Orlando, Florida.

29 Mar 2004

Novel vaccine technology to suppress the growth of certain tumors

MedImmune, Inc. and Cerus Corporation have announced preclinical results demonstrating the effectiveness of a novel therapeutic vaccine technology in suppressing the growth of certain tumors.

From Baxter International Inc. 29 Mar 2004

Immunomodulator induces long-term anti-tumor activity

EntreMed, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic candidates primarily for the treatment of cancer, today reported that three months following administration with ENMD 0996, preclinical animal models showed inhibition of metastases. Data presented demonstrated that ENMD 0996 specifically blocks the activity of basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2), a naturally-occurring protein that stimulates angiogenesis, but had no effect on other angiogenesis stimulators.

29 Mar 2004

New Research Information on Tumor Necrosis Therapy

Researchers for Peregrine Pharmaceuticals presented today at the Strategic Research Institute’s Clinical-Stage Product Partnering Summit in La Jolla, CA a summary of clinical experience with Tumor Necrosis Therapy (TNT). The TNT technology is being developed in the U.S. and Europe by Peregrine under the trade name Cotara™. Over 200 patients have been treated with TNT world-wide and a TNT product has been approved to treat grade III or IV advanced lung cancer in the People’s Republic of China. A Cotara registration study for brain cancer has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and a Phase I colorectal cancer study is on-going at Stanford University Medical Center.

25 Mar 2004

Partnership to improve TB vaccine, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)

Crucell N.V.and the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation of Bethesda, Maryland, announced today a new collaboration on the pre-clinical and clinical development of candidate tuberculosis (TB) vaccines. Aeras has agreed to provide Crucell up to USD$2.9 million contingent upon meeting certain development milestones, for development of TB vaccine candidates.

25 Mar 2004

Oregon Stem Cell Center Hunt for Human Disease Therapies

Oregon Health & Science University's fast-growing stem cell research program, which already has made significant strides in the hunt for human disease therapies, now has a place to call home.

23 Mar 2004

AMT Obtains Orphan Drug Designation for Its LPL Gene Therapy Product

AMT today announced that its adeno-associated viral vector (AAV) expressing lipoprotein lipase (LPL) product has been designated as an orphan medicinal product for the treatment of LPL deficiency by the European Commission. This decision follows a positive recommendation by the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products.

22 Mar 2004

New treatment for heart attacks

A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has developed a potential new treatment for heart attacks. The therapy inhibits fluid leakage from cardiac blood vessels following a heart attack and thereby significantly prevents long-term heart damage and improves survival.

22 Mar 2004