Cancer
> Cell Therapeutics ($CTIC) has published preclinical data for Pixuvri (pixantrone), its non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) therapeutic, showing that it doesn't form damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inhibits the formation of doxorubicin metabolites. This could explain why the cardiotoxicity is lower than expected in patients who have received previous doxorubicin therapy. Pixantrone has conditional marketing authorization in the EU in multiply relapsed or refractory aggressive NHL, but Cell Therapeutics has faced more of a struggle to get the drug available in the U.S., getting a unanimous thumbs down in 2010. Press release | Abstract
> Everolimus protected mice with a mutation in the Myc gene against lymphoma, and treated existing disease, but resistance could still develop. Press release
Diabetes
> Retraining white blood cells using a tweaked version of a pancreatic protein has eradicated symptoms of Type I diabetes in mice, suggesting a new route to treating autoimmune diseases including diabetes and multiple sclerosis for Swiss startup Anokion. This could be in the clinic in 2014 as a proof-of-concept study, counteracting the immune response to a drug known for its effectiveness against gout. Press release | Abstract
> Combining insulin and a growth factor inhibitor cut diabetic macular edema, a cause of diabetic loss of vision, in mice. Press release
Other research
> Using scraps of DNA like sticky tape keeps DNA origami folded in the test tube. Article
And Finally… Giving cancer cells a squeeze could put them back on the straight and narrow. Press release