Cancer Treatment: A new Approach
Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
Chemotherapy was the original treatment for cancer. In chemotherapy, fast growing cells are targeted and the tumour shrinks as a result. However, the effect is not always permanent; the cells often grow back and even become resistant to the therapy.
To overcome the resistance problem, chemotherapy is typically combined with other treatments that attack the tumour cells in different ways. Arriving at a right combination of treatments to ensure that they do not become too toxic is a task requiring caution and skill. In addition to prolonging life, the treatments should also improve the quality of the patient’s life. Cancer treatment has often made patients wonder whether it is the disease or treatment that is worse.
Now, a new form of treatment seems to be emerging. The treatment, known as oncolytic virotherapeutics, involves using viruses to infect and eliminate diseased cancer cells. The viruses do not affect normal cells.
A number of oncolytic viruses have been developed and are being tried out in clinical trials. These include the adenovirus, which is being tried out in multiple-engineered versions. Another, the Newcastle disease virus seems to minimize side effects when administered through slow infusion rather than injection. Poxviruses and even herpes simplex virus are all being researched.
Read the report at BioMedReports.
Tags: biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, cancer treatment
Posted in biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, cancer treatment, diseases | No Comments »
Flexible Silicon Wafers and Biomedicine
Saturday, November 13th, 2010
Silicon wafers are typically flat, brittle and stiff. These properties are not a big problem in the conventional uses of the wafers as in laptops and cell phones. However, if you want to use them in human body for medical purposes, these properties become a problem.
The body is curvilinear, elastic and soft and materials to be embedded in body need to have the same geometric and mechanical properties for best effect.
Now the question is why should silicon wafers be embedded in the body?
Researchers are visualizing several possibilities. By placing light emitting diodes (LEDs), which are a form of silicon wafers, anywhere in the body, it becomes possible to monitor the way light is scattering off that point. Such observation has diagnostic potential.
There is also the possibility to utilize the phenomenon that certain drugs are activated by exposure of light of a certain color. You can embed LEDs at desired points in body and the drug delivered in an inactive form to the body will be activated by exposing it to light at these points.
Some surgical procedures involve inserting a catheter into the body with a deflated balloon as part of the catheter. When the catheter is at the desired location, such as a blocked artery, the balloon is inflated. Now, if the balloon can also carry LEDs, more advanced sensing and therapy becomes possible. Flexible, elastic and soft silicon wafers can make that scenario a reality.
Read full details at SmartPlanet.com.
Tags: biomedicine, bionics, silicon wafers
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Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of the U.S. Government
Sunday, November 7th, 2010
The Act creates a more level playing field for small to mid-size companies, according to reports. It has created a new Internal Revenue Code Section 48D that provides some financial relief for companies with new therapies with a significant potential to:
* Cater to areas of unmet medical need
* Prevent, detect or treat chronic or acute diseases or conditions
* Reduce long-term health care costs in the United States
* Significantly advance the goal of curing cancer within 30 years
Grants are given to companies that have “Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Projects” as above. For each grant, several companies might be applying and there is a competitive application process.
A recent story reports that Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was successful in receiving grants for seven out of the eight applications it submitted. The grants, totaling $1.5 million, cover development of ProLindac, Thiarabine, MuGard, CobOral Oral Insulin and CobaCyte siRNA Delivery Programs.
“We are pleased to have been awarded these grants, and believe it reflects the considerable value of the Access development programs,” said Jeffrey Davis, CEO of Access Pharma. “Given the recent launch of our oral mucositis product, MuGard, and our ability to manage our cash burn through multiple partnerships, we believe these grants will significantly impact our balance sheet and product development timelines.”
Read the story at International Business Times
Tags: biopharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, financial relief under U.S. Act
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Biologics: A new Class of Drugs for Arthritis and other Conditions
Monday, November 1st, 2010
Biologics is generally viewed as a class of medications that are produced using biological processes involving recombinant DNA technology. They might be:
* Similar to the body’s signaling proteins that, for example, stimulate blood production or growth
* Custom antibodies that counteract some specific substance in the body or target specific cell types
* Receptor constructs with detailed specificity such as the ability to interfere with the tumor necrosis factor in autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatology and oncology have benefited in particular from this class of medications by adding major new therapeutic options. In many cases, no effective options were available for the disease conditions until biologics appeared.
Arthritis patients, for example, had no effective therapy under modern medicine while alternative medicine did not provide full relief. These patients have benefited significantly from biologic therapies that arrived only recently. The new treatments do cause some problems such as higher risks of infection and there is a pressing need to develop therapies that can produce results and minimize the risks.
The market for arthritis therapy using biologics is huge as arthritis is a worldwide problem that seriously affects the productivity of the workforce, in addition to causing severe and continued pain to sufferers. The report titled Arthritis Therapeutics to 2016 – Biologics Revolutionize Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Psoriatic Arthritis looks at this market. What makes this market highly attractive is the fact that arthritis therapy has a strong pipeline of candidates in different phases of clinical trials.
Tags: biologics, biotechnology, recombinant DNA, therapies
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University Develops Treatment for better Cancer Outcomes
Wednesday, October 20th, 2010
University of Queensland in Australia has developed Theraphil that can prevent neutropenia in cancer patients undergoing high doses of chemotherapy. Neutropenia results when the chemotherapy destroys white blood cells that fight bacterial and fungal infections. As a result, the cancer patients become highly susceptible to infections that can often lead to death.
Theraphil was developed by UQ researchers working at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN). It is a cell based therapy that UniQuest, the university’s main commercialization company, will be promoting at the annual Ausbiotech Conference. UniQuest has been working with the researchers to create a commercially viable prospect for potential investors, according to the company’s Managing Director.
UniQuest is seeking an investment or licensing partner to get the product into hospitals. The product incorporates valuable intellectual property and now needs a partner with requisite financial strength to see it through clinical trials and marketing. It can produce financial, clinical and economic returns to the partner, University, Australia’s biotech industry and the health services sector, according to UniQuest MD.
UniQuest hopes to announce the partner at the Ausbiotech Conference scheduled this week. The partner will be benefiting patients in critical need according to UniQuest.
Read the news at UUQ News website.
Tags: biopharmaceuticals, biotechnology, cancer treatment, nanobiotechnology
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DNA Sequencing has Applications in Numerous Fields
Sunday, October 17th, 2010
DNA sequencing identifies the order of nucleotides (building blocks of DNA) in a segment of DNA. Knowledge of this order can help identify the genetic makeup of an organism. Researchers have been able to associate vulnerability to certain diseases with specific genetic makeup. The DNA sequence of individuals can help determine their vulnerabilities, as well as the type of treatment that will work for them. Such personalized treatment is the future of medicine.
Genetic therapy that replaces defective genes with healthy ones is another medical application.
DNA sequences are unique for individuals and this characteristic has been used in forensics to identify the presence of individuals at crime scenes. Hair, nail, skin or blood samples can be analyzed and the DNA sequence can be compared with that of suspect’s. DNA sequencing is also used to determine paternity.
And genetically modified crops with higher yields, better resistance to pest attacks and even greater nutritional value have become possible with the help of DNA sequencing and manipulation.
Scientific projects such as the human genome project involved extensive DNA sequencing. It is this project that helped researchers identify the relationship between disease and genetic makeup.
DNA sequencing has several applications and the industry is growing fast. A report goes into specific detail starting with a look at DNA, the methods used for DNA sequencing and an analysis of the market for DNA sequencing industry by methods, applications and regions.
Tags: biotechnology, dna, dna sequencing, personalized medicine
Posted in biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, crop science, diseases, genetic modification | 1 Comment »
A Cure for Type I Diabetes?
Wednesday, September 29th, 2010
Type I Diabetes is an auto-immune disease in which the insulin producing beta cells (one type of islet cells) of the pancreas are destroyed over time by antibodies. When insulin production goes down, the body is unable to process the glucose in the blood and diabetic problems appear. Treatment has been attempted through transplantation of islet cells from external donors.
Such transplantation poses two problems. One is the shortage of donor pancreases for extracting islet cells. Two is the rejection of foreign cells by the body which sees them as it sees disease-producing viral organisms, and destroys the foreign intruders. To counteract this tendency, the transplantation must be accompanied by immunosuppressant drugs.
A new treatment seeks to use the patient’s own stem cells to regenerate islet cells. Stem cells are master cells from which all specialized cells such as the islet cells in the pancreas are created. Differentiation of stem cells into islet cells has been achieved in labs and this holds the potential to tackle the problems of transplantation.
And now a company is seeking partners to test a drug developed by it. The company believes that by adding its product to the transplanted islet cells (regenerated from stem cells as above) the success of the transplantation can be improved.
Read the news release at MarketWatch.
Tags: biomedicine, biotechnology, stem cell treatment
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Insights into Biotech Pharmaceuticals Scenario
Saturday, September 11th, 2010
A market research report into biotechnology pharmaceuticals market in the US provides insight into the drivers that propel the growth of this industry. One conclusion the report has is that Blood Modifiers will account for as much as 36.3 percent of the market. Blood modifiers can either enhance or inhibit the clotting or thinning of blood.
What are the drivers that help the expected 7.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for this industry? The report mentions the following:
* Biotechnology drugs with greater efficiency and safety are catching people’s attention and becoming ever more popular
* Government is adopting policies and regulatory frameworks that encourage companies engaged in biotechnology research and development; for example, proposals are under way for speeding up the time to market after all regulatory approvals
* An ageing population with chronic and age-related diseases is increasing the demand for biotechnology pharmaceuticals
Some experts are even arguing that biotechnology can provide a solution to the problem of an ageing population, i.e. a population where aged people form an increasing percentage. Aged people need more healthcare costing money, and are typically unable to engage in wealth-producing activities. Biotechnology with promises such as genetic therapy that targets genes underlying disease conditions (instead of working on symptoms) should be able to help tackle the problem better.
Read the report at BioMed Reports.
Tags: ageing population, biopharmaceutical industry, regulatory approvals process
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The Ninth Biotechnology Industry Organization Investor Forum
Saturday, August 21st, 2010
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Investor Forum is a national investor conference held in the US. Participants of the forum include leading private and emerging public biotech companies, venture and private equity investors in healthcare, and investors interested in buying or selling. Business development executives from leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies participating in the forum will have the opportunity for networking and exploring for the kinds of deals they are looking for.
At this year’s conference, Chairman/CEO of Advaxis Inc., a biotechnology company developing proprietary, live, attenuated Listeria monocytogenes (Listeria) vaccines that deliver engineered tumor antigens, will discuss recent developments in the areas of clinical trials and financing.
Other topics slated to be discussed include:
– First patient group dosing in US-based, Phase II cervical dysplasia (CIN) trial
– Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) clearance to proceed with a India-based, Phase II cervical cancer trial
– National Cancer Institute — Gynecologic Oncology Group’s trial in cervix cancer
– CRUK trial in Head and Neck cancer
– Collaborative research and development agreement (CRADA) signing with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to study Listeria in animals
– $7.5 million in financing agreement with life science fund
Read the news release at Market Watch.
Tags: biopharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, investors forum
Posted in biopharmaceutical, biotechnology | 2 Comments »
The Importance of Finding a Vaccine for HIV
Sunday, July 18th, 2010
As things stand now “for every two patients who begin receiving treatment for HIV, five people are newly infected.” What this means is that HIV cannot be controlled through treatment alone. Instead, it is necessary to prevent the infection from occurring through appropriate means.
One theoretical approach to do this is by getting people to practice safe sex. In practice, however, this has not been found successful as indicated by the increasing incidence of the infection.
It is in this context that finding a vaccine for HIV becomes important. If a vaccine could immunize people against HIV, the prospect of controlling its incidence becomes more realistic.
The biennial International Aids Conference from July 18 to July 23, 2010 in Vienna will review the current state of the war against HIV, which we are presently losing. Despite massive infusion of resources into HIV research, the number of HIV patients continues increasing.
A vaccine that is not only effective but also safe is the best defense in this war. And the hopeful news is that there are some exciting developments on this front. A vaccine regimen consisting of a canary-pox-vector prime plus a protein-subunit boost in the RV144 is on trial in Thailand. New vaccine approaches for improved control over Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) is advancing to clinical trials. Novel approaches to HIV vaccine design are also being explored.
Read a perspective on this issue at
New England Journal of Medicine.
Tags: biotechnology, hiv vaccine
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