1. Introduction Neuromuscular disease is a very broad term that encompasses many diseases and aliments that either directly, via intrinsic muscle pathology, or indirectly, via nerve pathology, impair the functioning of the muscles. Neuromuscular diseases affect the muscles and/or their nervous control and lead to problems with movement. Many are genetic; sometimes, an immune system disorder can cause them. As they have no cure, the aim of clinical treatment is to improve symptoms, increase mobility and lengthen life. Some of them affect the anterior horn cell, and are classified as acquired (e.g. poliomyelitis) and hereditary (e.g. spinal muscular atrophy) diseases. SMA is a genetic disease that attacks nerve cells, called motor neurons, in the spinal cord. As a consequence of the lost of the neurons, muscles weakness becomes to be evident, affecting walking, crawling, breathing, swallowing and head and neck control. Neuropathies affect the peripheral nerve and are divided into demyelinating (e.g. leucodystrophies) and axonal (e.g. porphyria) diseases. Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) is the most frequent hereditary form among the neuropathies and its characterized by a wide range of symptoms so that CMT-1a is classified as demyelinating and CMT-2 as axonal (Marchesi & Pareyson, 2010). Defects in neuromuscular junctions cause infantile and … Continue reading →

London, UK (PRWEB) April 02, 2015 Across the biopharmaceutical industry, the cancer immunotherapy field is forecast to generate revenue of over USD 80 billion by 2020. The market has been underpinned by the approval of Dendreons Provenge for advanced prostate cancer in 2010 and Bristol-Myers Yervoy drug for skin cancer melanoma in 2011. Immunotherapy drugs are considered to be more efficient than the traditional options, and they are set to be used for the treatment of a variety (around 60%) of cancer types during the next ten years. These drugs generated close to USD 41.0 billion of revenue as of 2014. By the end of 2020, Nivolumab, Rituxan, Avastin, Revlimid and Xtandi are projected to be the five leading cancer drugs. Bristol-Myers Squibbs Yervoy, for instance, is expected to have a market value of over USD 1.775 billion by 2020. Opdivo and Keytruda will likely generate sales revenues of USD 4.3 billion and USD 2.9 billion, respectively, in 2019. At present, over 15 companies are developing 30 various antibody-drug conjugates a new class of therapeutic agents targeting hematologic malignancies and solid tumors alike. Carrying a chemotherapy drug, the ADCs are deemed to be more effective and efficient in the disease … Continue reading →