Merck has decided to suspend its Phase 3 trial that was assessing a combination of Yervoy (ipilimumab) and Keytruda (pembrolizumab) as a first-line therapy for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the company announced in a press release. The decision to halt the study was based on recommendations from an independent data monitoring committee,…
The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) has committed $5 million to support the launch of two new Centers of Excellence that will provide precision medicine treatments to veterans with prostate cancer. The centers are being launched in collaboration with the Veterans Administration Boston Healthcare System, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the VA Portland Health Care System, and…
The combination of Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and ALKS 4230 was able to halt disease progression and reduce tumor size in a small group of heavily pre-treated patients with advanced ovarian cancer, according to data from an ongoing Phase 1/2 trial. Findings from the trial, called ARTISTRY-1 (NCT02799095), also showed the combination therapy had a manageable safety…
A new $100-million program aims to improve the diversity of participants in U.S. clinical trials with the ultimate goal of achieving better health outcomes and parity in care for underserved patient populations. The initiative seeks to extend the reach of clinical studies to underserved populations in the nation’s urban and rural communities, and promote treatment development…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted fast track designation with rolling review to Lumicell’s LUM Imaging System for the detection and treatment of breast cancer. Fast track is given to accelerate the development and review of investigational therapies aimed at treating serious or life-threatening conditions, and addressing an unmet medical need. With…
Immune cells that have been genetically engineered using CRISPR technology will be tested for a first time as a potential treatment of metastatic gastrointestinal cancer in a clinical trial. The Phase 1/2 trial (NCT04426669) is enrolling up to 20 eligible patients at the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center. Contact information for this single-site study can be…
The Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration (ASES) has signed an agreement with miR Scientific to evaluate the economic and health benefits of using the miR Sentinel PCC4 Assay, also called the miR Sentinel Prostate Test, to alleviate the burden of prostate cancer in the U.S. territory. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer and…
The University of Texas’ MD Anderson Cancer Center, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute and Golfers Against Cancer, is evaluating the usefulness of a blood test called CA-125 at detecting ovarian cancer at early stages in low-risk women. Cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) is a protein found at higher levels in people with ovarian and other types of cancer.…
Genmab is launching a Phase 3 clinical trial investigating its bispecific antibody epcoritamab as a treatment for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients who fail to respond to, or are ineligible for, autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). The open-label trial (NCT04628494) is expected to enroll up to 480 people whose tumors are positive…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Keytruda (pembrolizumab), in combination with chemotherapy, to treat people with advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and at least 10% of tumor cells positive for PD-L1. The indication includes patients with locally recurrent and inoperable or metastatic tumors, not previously treated with chemotherapy. Tumor PD-L1 status will be…
