colon cancer news from FierceBiotech

As we mentioned earlier this week, data from almost 5,000 clinical studies was released last night in preparation for next week's ASCO meeting. And some of the most interesting data won't be released Read more...

> Roxro Pharma announced it has received an Excellence and Innovation Award from the Committee on Scientific Papers of the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia for the Phase III data of the company's Read more...

> Avastin got the big thumbs-down from an FDA advisory panel yesterday. The Genentech drug, approved for use against colon and lung cancer, was up for consideration as a breast-cancer therapy, but Read more...

The FDA has approved an Erbitux label update to include additional survival data. ImClone and Bristol-Myers Squibb, who make the drug, announced Read more...

Breast cancer is making headlines today: Eli Lilly got the FDA's nod to market its osteoporosis drug Evista as a breast cancer preventative, and Genentech got word that the agency will consider its Read more...

Amgen says that a new trial of its anemia drug Aranesp indicated a higher risk of death among patients with anemia caused by cancer. Aranesp is currently approved to treat anemia caused by chemotherapy and Amgen has been looking to broaden its approval for the drug. The new data raises new questions about the risks posed by Aranesp as well as two similar drugs--Epogen and Procrit--with a …

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Researchers announced that Erbitux proved effective as a front-line therapy against colon cancer, a big development for a therapy that is currently approved only after the unsuccessful use of chemotherapy. Data indicates that Erbitux delays progression of the disease when given as a combinational therapy with chemotherapy. That's good news for Bristol-Myers Squibb and ImClone, which share the revenue from the drug. Merck KGaA is ImClone's partner outside of the U.S. All three have been …

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> San Diego-based Santarus will gain $15 million up front and up to $65 million in milestones in a licensing deal with Schering-Plough for a low-dose version of the heartburn drug Zegerid. Report

> NeurogesX announced positive results from a Phase III trial of Transacin (NGX-4010), a high-concentration trans-capsaicin dermal …

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As expected, the FDA has approved Genentech's Avastin as a front line therapy for the most common kind of lung cancer. Some 162,000 Americans die every year from lung cancer. Avastin, already approved for colon cancer, will be provided to qualified patients for a discounted price of $55,000 a year, but only for approved indications. Genentech and other drug developers have been harshly criticized for demanding astronomically high retail prices on new therapies.

- read the AP report on the approval

Scientists at the National Cancer Institute are heralding what they call the first successful gene therapy experiment in cancer after curing two men with advanced melanoma. Genetically altered immune cells wiped out all signs of the cancer in the two men, though they did not help 15 other volunteers in the experiment. This is the first time, they say, that gene therapy for cancer has worked at an advanced stage of the lethal disease. And new gene therapy trials are being planned for …

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