PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 3-Dec-2014 Contact: Glenna Picton picton@bcm.edu 713-798-4710 Baylor College of Medicine @bcmhouston HOUSTON - (Dec. 3, 2014) - A novel mechanism - similar to how normal tissue stem cells respond to wounding - might explain why bladder cancer stem cells actively contribute to chemo-resistance after multiple cycles of chemotherapy drug treatment. Targeting this "wound response" of cancer stem cells can potentially provide a novel approach for therapeutic invention, said researchers from the National Cancer Institute-designated Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine. The results of their study appear online in the journal Nature today. "Treatment for advanced bladder cancer is limited to surgery and chemotherapy. There are no targeted treatments available," said Dr. Keith Syson Chan, an assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology and of urology and the corresponding author on the report. "The chemotherapy response is far from ideal so the clinical goal is to advance research into this area and uncover a much more targeted approach." Together with co-lead authors Antonina Kurtova, a graduate student in the Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine Program at Baylor, and Dr. Jing Xiao, research assistant in urology at Baylor, Chan and his team sought out to … Continue reading →

By Suzanne Hodsden, contributing writer Oxford BioTherapeutics (OBT) and the Menarini Group are prepared to begin human trials for OBT357 (MEN1112), indicated for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This project is the first of five projected collaborations on cancer-fighting antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) to proceed to phase 1 human trials. ADCs are a biologic/chemical combination that attaches cancer-fighting drugs to antibodies, leading to a more targeted and less toxic approach to cancer treatment. In 2012, OBT and Menarini partnered to share expertise in developing, testing and marketing ADCs. According to the terms of the $1 billion agreement, OBT provides the proprietary cancer target, antibody and delivery technologies, and Menarini provides for the manufacture and clinical development of each newly developed ADC. Menarini would be responsible for regulatory approval measures in its territories: Europe, Asia, and Latin America, while OBT would seek approval in North America and Japan. This ADC indicated for AML treatment is their first collaboration, launched in 2013. Andrew Slade, CEO of Menarini commented then, The first result of our researchers has arrived after a year of intense work, in the form of a monoclonal antibody which shows remarkable ability to target cells and induce their … Continue reading →

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. and SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Dec. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval of BLINCYTO (blinatumomab) for the treatment of patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative (Ph-) relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This indication is approved under accelerated approval. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification of clinical benefit in subsequent trials. With this approval, BLINCYTO becomes the first FDA-approved bispecific CD19-directed CD3 T-cell engager (BiTE) antibody construct product, and the first single-agent immunotherapy to be approved for the treatment of patients with Ph- relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor ALL, a rare and rapidly progressing cancer of the blood and bone marrow.1-3 "The FDA's breakthrough therapy designation and accelerated approval of BLINCYTO underscores the critical need for new treatment options for patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor ALL, who are often young adults," said Sean E. Harper, M.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen. "BLINCYTO is the first clinical and regulatory validation of the BiTE platform, a new and innovative approach that helps the body's own immune system fight cancer." The BLINCYTO approval is based … Continue reading →