Don Tracy, Associate Editor Hercessi marks Accord BioPharma’s first biosimilar to be approved in the United States, with multiple indications for HER2-overexpressing breast and gastric cancers. Image Credit: Adobe Stock Images/Saiful52 Accord BioPharma announced that the FDA has approved Hercessi (trastuzumab-strf), a biosimilar to Herceptin (trastuzumab), for the treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-overexpressing breast and gastric cancers. The treatment is also approved for metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. According to the company, the approval was based on promising data that showcased Hercessi’s biosimilarity to Herceptin when it came to efficacy, safety, and quality. This includes three studies, one being a Phase III clinical efficacy study, and the other two being Phase 1 PK equivalence studies. All trials displayed safety profiles on par with Herceptin.1 “The approval of Hercessi—our first biosimilar to be approved in the US—marks an important milestone for Accord BioPharma in our efforts ...
The process of biopsy is important for confirming the presence of cancer. In the conventional histopathology technique, tissue is excised, sliced, stained, mounted on slides, and examined under a microscope to identify cancerous markers. This lengthy procedure often results in patients waiting weeks or months for their results, causing treatment delays and heightened anxiety. Now, a breakthrough digital medical imaging system promises to transform cancer detection by offering instantaneous results, facilitating timely and effective treatment across all cancer types. The Photon Absorption Remote Sensing (PARS) system, an innovative, built-from-scratch technology developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada), marks a radical departure from traditional cancer detection methods, promising diagnoses within minutes and enabling rapid surgical intervention. The system utilizes lasers to irradiate tissue samples, producing a comprehensive, high-resolution data set. This data is then processed by an artificial intelligence (AI) system that converts it into a conventional histopathology ...
Chiatai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. is conducting a randomized, controlled, double-blind, dual-simulation, multi-center, Phase III clinical study to evaluate D1553 versus docetaxel in the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with KRAS G12C mutation-positive lung cancer that has failed prior standard therapy (D1553-III-01). “. Now recruiting nationwide. Trial Drug Profile D-1553 tablets are a novel targeted KRAS G12C mutation inhibitor, registered and classified as a chemical drug class 1. On December 29, 2023, China’s National Drug Administration (NMPA) has accepted the New Drug Marketing Application for D-1553 Tablets for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with disease progression or intolerable disease after prior first-line systemic therapy and with the presence of KRAS G12C mutation confirmed by testing. In August 2023, Chiatai Tianqing entered into a license and collaboration agreement with Yifang Bio to obtain the exclusive license rights for the ...
Lung cancer is extremely hard to detect early due to the limitations of current screening technologies, which are costly, sometimes inaccurate, and less commonly endorsed by healthcare professionals compared to other screening types. Despite smoking being the primary risk factor, up to 20% of lung cancer cases occur in individuals who have never smoked. The prevailing method for lung cancer screening involves low-dose CT (LDCT) scans. These scans are not only expensive but also prone to generating both false positives and negatives, besides exposing patients to radiation. Consequently, merely about 10% of individuals recommended for screening actually undergo regular scans, a stark contrast to the higher participation rates seen with mammography for breast cancer and colonoscopy for colorectal cancer. As such, lung cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, when treatment options are limited. Researchers are now developing a new blood test aimed at earlier and more accurate detection ...
Current strategies for matching cancer patients with specific treatments often depend on bulk sequencing of tumor DNA and RNA, which provides an average profile from all cells within a tumor sample. However, tumors are heterogeneous, containing multiple subpopulations of cells, or clones, each potentially responding differently to treatments. This variability may explain why some patients either fail to respond to certain treatments or develop resistance. Single-cell RNA sequencing offers higher-resolution data than bulk sequencing, capturing data at the single-cell level. This approach to identify and target individual clones may lead to more lasting drug responses, although, single-cell gene expression data are more expensive to generate and less accessible in clinical environments. In a proof-of-concept study, researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH, Bethesda, MD, US) have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that leverages data from individual tumor cells to predict how well a person’s cancer might respond to ...
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is well-known for its role in causing cervical cancer and is also increasingly identified as being responsible for cancers in the mouth, throat, and other areas of the head and neck. Early detection of cancer is essential, as it greatly improves patient outcomes. Now, a new urine-based test that can detect DNA fragments shed by head and neck tumors could potentially enable earlier detection of these cancers, which currently lack effective screening techniques. The research team at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI, USA) utilized whole genome sequencing to show that cell-free DNA fragments found in urine, which originate from tumor cells and pass from the bloodstream through the kidneys, are predominantly ultra-short, with less than 50 base pairs. Their small size makes detection difficult using traditional urine or blood-based liquid biopsy tests for circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). Currently in the experimental stage, this mail-in test ...
When dermatologists spot an unusual mark on a patient’s skin, they face a choice: monitor it for some time or remove it for biopsy. Similarly, when removing breast tumors, surgeons must send excised tissues to pathologists who take several days to determine if any cancerous cells remain, leading to a second surgery for removing additional cells in about 20% of cases. Pathologists process these tissues by slicing them into thin sections and staining them with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), which enhances the visibility of cellular structures and is crucial for diagnosing cancers and other diseases. However, this method is labor-intensive and irreversible; once a biopsy is sliced in one direction, it cannot be resectioned for alternative views. Now, a “virtual biopsy” could allow dermatologists to forego the scalpel and scan the skin to check for cancerous cells without an incision. Similarly, surgeons might soon be able to determine if they ...
Novartis gains global rights to an Arvinas protein degrading drug that targets the androgen receptor to treat prostate cancer. The deal also includes a preclinical molecule addressing an androgen receptor variant.Novartis, whose presence in prostate cancer is mainly through the radiopharmaceutical Pluvicto, is expanding its prospects in the disease, striking a deal that brings a Phase 3-ready small molecule in the emerging therapeutic modality called targeted protein degradation. The drug, ARV-766, was developed by New Haven, Connecticut-based Arvinas. The deal announced Thursday calls for Novartis to pay $150 million up front. The Swiss pharmaceutical giant could shell out up to $1 billion more if the molecule achieves development, regulatory, and commercial milestones. Targeted protein degradation involves using a small molecule to target a disease-causing protein, marking it for disposal by the cell’s built-in system for eliminating old or damaged proteins. Arvinas specializes in protein degrader drugs, and the company’s pipeline ...
Bio-Rad Laboratories and Alleghany Health Network (AHN) have partnered to advance clinical evidence for monitoring solid tumour cancers using Bio-Rad’s Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) technology. The collaboration will use ddPCR technology for molecular residual disease (MRD) monitoring of patients across a range of solid tumour types. Accounting for approximately 90% of all adult human cancers and half of childhood malignancies, solid tumour cancers can develop in many parts of the body, including the breast, lung, prostate and colon. Used to provide a critical indication of both remission and potential relapse in patients, MRD testing has been widely adopted for monitoring haematological malignancies and is now being implemented for solid tumour diseases. As part of the agreement, the collaboration will combine Bio-Rad’s digital PCR technology and expertise in molecular oncology, assay design and development with AHN’s cancer-care expertise, clinical data and patient samples collected via its Cancer Institute’s Moonshot programme, which ...
The FDA expanded Enhertu’s approval to encompass advanced solid tumors positive for the HER2 cancer protein, regardless of tumor type. Analysts say the regulatory decision paves the way for similar broader approvals of other medications in the ADC cancer drug class.The AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo targeted cancer drug Enhertu is now the first therapy in its class approved for treating solid tumors regardless of either the cancer type or where the disease started in the body. Enhertu had previously won FDA approvals for treating certain advanced cases of breast, gastric, and lung cancers that express a protein called HER2. Late Friday, the FDA expanded the drug’s approval to broadly include the treatment of adults who have HER2-expressing solid tumors. These patients must have a cancer that cannot be removed surgically or has advanced following a prior systemic treatment. The expanded approval came nearly two months ahead of the May 30 ...
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