Redefining Possibilities in Cancer Care
Cancer requires more than a one-size-fits-all approach to treatment. Across tumor types, the disease can be complex and challenging to treat because cells use multiple pathways to grow while also using a variety of mechanisms to resist treatment.[1]
By using two or more drugs to target a single or multiple growth pathways, combination therapies are often more effective than single agents and have become the cornerstone treatment for many different types of cancer.[2] Yet, there are still several challenges involved in delivering treatment as safely and effectively as possible. These complications inspired researchers at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, a global biopharmaceutical company with a focus on oncology, including hematologic and solid tumors, to apply its proprietary technology to recognize the full potential of combination therapy.
Combining drugs at maximum doses can result in high levels of adverse effects for the patient, meaning the doses may often need to be lowered or the drugs stopped altogether.[1] In addition, one must consider how the drugs will interact with each other. This can produce a positive or negative impact on the patient, with a level of interaction that depends on the proportion of each drug.[1] And finally, the delivery of conventional combination chemotherapy to patients does not maintain drug ratios after administration, which may result in suboptimal anti-tumor activity.[1]
Pushing the Boundaries of Treatment Technology
Jazz’s CombiPlex® platform is a technology-based approach to the development of drug combinations that leverages nanoscale carriers to deliver optimal ratios of multiple anticancer agents directly to cancer cells over a prolonged period.[1] By enabling the design and rapid evaluation of various combinations of therapies, this technology helps overcome many of the challenges associated with conventional combination regimens and allows Jazz to move to clinical trials more quickly than traditional combination development processes.
Through the CombiPlex platform, Jazz is currently evaluating oncology combinations to support the identification of new options for patients with solid tumors and hematological malignancies.
With an eye toward the future, Jazz is continuing to grow momentum in oncology, working with cutting-edge biotech companies to shape molecular discovery and development in pre-clinical stages, target oncogenes that, to date, have been undruggable with current modalities, and advance a pan-RAF inhibitor program designed to explore new or combination therapies for solid tumors resistant to existing treatments. Through this work with industry-leading peers and key oncology institutions and organizations around the world, Jazz is able to bring more promising therapies to market.
An Ongoing Commitment to the Oncology Community
Today, with nearly 1,600 experts, analysts, specialists, advocates, scientists and professionals across 13 offices around the globe, Jazz is united in its mission, with a focus on developing life-changing medicines for people with serious diseases which often have limited or no options, including those in the oncology community.
“An important component of our R&D program is evolving delivery technologies to improve the therapeutic index and create better treatment options, especially in difficult to treat diseases such as cancer,” said Robert Iannone, M.D., M.S.C.E., executive vice president, R&D at Jazz Pharmaceuticals. “Our ability to bring in innovative technologies, coupled with our drug development expertise, allows us to continue advancing our growing oncology pipeline — ultimately reaching even more patients and addressing unmet needs.”
Jazz remains committed to dedicating resources, listening to patients, physicians, care teams and advocacy groups, and seizing opportunities to improve treatment outcomes. Through a new exclusive U.S. commercialization agreement with PharmaMar, Jazz is also working to bring a new medicine to U.S. patients with relapsed small cell lung cancer (SCLC), a disease with few options to prolong survival. If approved, the treatment could provide a new option for individuals who face this challenging disease, especially since the treatment landscape has not changed substantially in more than two decades. Together with its partner, Jazz is continuing to explore further development of the medication through additional clinical studies in SCLC and other tumors, both as a monotherapy and in combination with other medicines.
“At the center of everything we do is a shared goal of improving outcomes and finding cures for patients,” said Dr. Iannone. “At Jazz, we make every decision knowing there is potential to save more lives – delivering the greatest impact to the people who need it most.”