OncoSec Medical (NSDQ:ONCS) said today that its DNA-based intratumoral cancer immunotherapy, pIL-12, won orphan drug designation from the FDA for the treatment of unresectable metastatic melanoma. The drug, tavokinogene telsaplasmid, is the biologic agent delivered using OncoSec’s ImmunoPulse IL-12 electroporation device. The company’s device delivers a sequence of short-duration electrical pulses to increase the cancer […]
Oncology
Inovio launches late-stage cervical dysplasia trial after FDA lifts hold
Shares in Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:INO) jumped more than 10% after it announced that it is launching a Phase III clinical study of its investigational DNA immunotherapy candidate designed to treat cervical dysplasia caused by human papillomavirus. The moves comes after the FDA lifted a hold that it placed on the clinical program in October last year. At […]
Novocure launches Optune, chemotherapy combo trial for glioblastoma
Novocure (NSDQ:NVCR) said today that the 1st patient was enrolled in a Phase II pilot trial evaluating Optune with bevacizumab, a chemotherapy, for patients with refractory recurrent glioblastoma. In recurrent GBM, Optune and bevacizumab are approved as monotherapies. Novocure’s consortium study is slated to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the Optune-chemo combo in patients […]
Surefire Medical touts infusion tech in liver cancer trial
Surefire Medical touted data today from a retrospective analysis of 85 bridge-to-transplant liver cancer patients treated with transarterial chemoembolization. The data showed that therapy delivered using the Surefire infusion system yielded an 80% complete response in 1 treatment compared to 52% with a standard endhole microcatheter. The analysis also demonstrated a lower recurrence rate of […]
Sirtex SIR-spheres fail to meet primary endpoint in head-to-head trial
Sirtex Medical (ASX:SRX) shares are down slightly today after its radioactive microspheres failed to meet the primary endpoint in a liver cancer trial. The company’s SIR-Spheres Y-90 resin microspheres did not improve survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma compared to a group treated with the current standard of care, sorafenib. Data from the 360-patient trial […]
Novartis, IBM Watson collab to optimize care for patients with advanced breast cancer
Novartis (NYSE:NVS) said today that it inked a deal with IBM Watson Health to optimize care and improve outcomes for patients with advanced breast cancer. The 2 companies plan to develop a “cognitive solution” using real-world patient data and analytics to better understand expected outcomes of breast cancer treatment options and develop personalized treatment plans […]
Philips, Illumina to launch precision medicine cancer program with Navican
Royal Philips (NYSE:PHG) and Intermountain Healthcare company Navican inked an agreement today to launch a precision health informatics solution aimed at improving outcomes for late stage cancer patients. The program is slated to leverage Navican‘s TheraMap Precision Cancer Care services and Philips’ IntelliSpace Genomics platform, which uses Illumina‘s next-gen genomic sequencing technologies. At Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare’s […]
Intensity Therapeutics begins human testing of intratumoral cancer drug
Intensity Therapeutics said today that the 1st patient was treated in a Phase I/II trial of its intratumorally-administered cancer therapy, INT230-6. The company’s plans to evaluate the safety of its cancer-killing agent in patients with tumors that are treated at the surface of the skin, including breast cancer and melanoma. Intensity Therapeutics also plans to […]
Sirtex Medical ticks up after Aussie court bars injunction
Sirtex Medical (ASX:SRX) said yesterday that Australia’s Federal Court denied a shareholders bid for an injunction barring its pending share buyback. The shareholders lawsuit accuses Sirtex of breaching continuous disclosure obligations and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct, alleging that its guidance for double-digit sales growth “has no reasonable grounds.” Yesterday the Australian company said the Federal Court dismissal of the shareholders’ injunction […]
Colorectal cancer patients treated with SIR-spheres more likely to be candidates for resection
Treatment with Sirtex Medical‘s (ASX:SRX) Y-90 resin microspheres and chemotherapy was associated with a statistically significant gain in potentially curative liver resectability, according to data published earlier this week. The results come 1 week after the Australian company reported that its radioactive microspheres had no effect in improving survival in patients with colorectal cancer in its […]
