A combination of ilixadencel plus first-line treatment with Sutent (sunitinib) prolonged overall survival to a clinically meaningful extent in newly diagnosed patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), a form of kidney cancer, a Phase 2 trial found. People given this combo treatment in the MERECA trial (NCT02432846) lived 10 months longer than those on Sutent…
After consulting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), AstraZeneca has announced that Imfinzi (durvalumab) — which last year failed a confirmatory Phase 3 trial — will no longer be available in the U.S. for people with locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer. AstraZeneca has opted to voluntarily withdraw Imfinzi after the therapy’s failure,…
A Phase 1 trial will evaluate the use of gene therapy in delivering brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which often precedes dementia. Researchers at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine are preparing to open a three-year trial in 12…
Affimed will team up with Roche to conduct a Phase 1/2a clinical trial investigating its innate cell engager AFM24 — a form of immunotherapy — in combination with Tecentriq (atezolizumab) for the treatment of EGFR-positive solid cancers that progressed despite prior therapies. Under a new collaboration agreement, Affimed will fund and conduct the trial, while…
Understanding the molecular components of odors used by trained dogs to detect prostate cancer could help researchers to develop computers with similar diagnostic accuracy, a new study shows. The study, “Feasibility of integrating canine olfaction with chemical and microbial profiling of urine to detect lethal prostate cancer,” was published in PLOS One. An ongoing need in…
Celsion‘s immunotherapy candidate, GEN-1, has received fast track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for advanced ovarian cancer. This designation helps speed the approval of potential medicines that address unmet medical needs in serious or life-threatening conditions. It grants greater access to FDA input throughout the regulatory process and makes GEN-1 eligible…
The National Institute of Aging (NIA) and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) have awarded $4.6 million to a team of researchers studying the potential of the cancer therapy Revlimid (lenalidomide) in treating people with early stage Alzheimer’s disease. Two clinical trials, each supported by one of these grants, are planned. The first is now recruiting…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted breakthrough therapy designation to Immunocore‘s tebentafusp (IMCgp100) for HLA-A2 positive, inoperable, or advanced uveal melanoma — a common and difficult-to-treat form of eye cancer — the company announced in a press release. The breakthrough therapy status was awarded after a Phase 3 trial showed that tebentafusp worked…
Prolaris — a genetic test that predicts the aggressiveness of prostate cancer — can accurately identify which men with intermediate- or high-risk disease will benefit from adding androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) to standard radiation therapy, a study shows. This Myriad Genetics’ test was found to be superior to other methods at predicting cancer spread (metastasis) in…
She ROCKS, an organization working for earlier diagnosis and better treatments for ovarian cancer, raised $100,000 through recent virtual luncheon fundraisers to support ongoing research into a potential stem cell-based therapy. Since its inception in 2014, She ROCKS has contributed more than $1 million to support ovarian cancer research underway at the University of North…
