Johns Hopkins researchers identify candidate treatments of malaria and cervical cancer...A further fast track designation for Nexavar

Todays Headlines from across the DailyUpdates network

Featured Journal Article (from DailyUpdates-Infectious Diseases): Johns Hopkins researchers identify candidate treatments of malaria and cervical cancer [Licensing Option] Each year an estimated 300 to 500 million clinical cases of malaria occur, making it one of the most common infectious diseases worldwide. Malaria can cause high morbidity and mortality and indeed it is the cause of 1.5 to 2.0 million deaths/year. The economic burden of malaria is high, costing African healthcare systems as much as $0.5 billion each year. The emergence of drug resistant strains of malaria is significant and is driving the development of novel anti-malarials. Today’s featured research focuses on efforts from Dr Gary Posner’s lab at The Johns Hopkins University. This group has identified artemisinin derivatives with up to 37 fold greater efficacy than sodium artesunate, another derivative of artemisinin which is a component of current anti-malarials. Of interest, other artemisinin derivatives have been identified by Dr Posner’s group as candidate treatments of cervical cancer. This malignancy is diagnosed in about 13,000 American women each year. Although it is hoped that vaccines against HPV, the cause of cervical cancer, will eventually greatly reduce this incidence there will be a need for effective treatments of the disease for the foreseeable future [J Med Chem. 2006 May 4;49(9):2731-4]

Featured News Item (from DailyUpdates-Oncology): A further fast track designation for Nexavar We recently highlighted a press release from Bayer/Onyx announcing that they have received a positive opinion from the CHMP for Nexavar to be used in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. This followed approval by the FDA in December 2005 and in March 2006 in Switzerland . Nexavar has been shown to double progression-free survival in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. Nexavar is also being evaluated in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and was granted Fast Track designation for this disease in June 2006. Nexavar is also being evaluated in a Phase III clinical trial for non-small cell lung cancer. Today’s highlighted release announces that Nexavar has now been granted Fast Track designation by the FDA for the treatment of advanced melanoma. Cancer of the skin (nonmelanoma and melanoma skin cancers combined) is the most common type of cancer, accounting for more than 50% of all cancers. Melanoma accounts for about 4% of skin cancer cases but causes about 79% of skin cancer deaths [source: Onyx]