Pharma and biotech target growing cancer sector
pharmafile | May 24, 2005 | News story | Sales and Marketing |Â Â Â
Pharma and biotech companies presented a welter of data at this year's ASCO cancer conference, highlighting the growing importance of the oncology sector.
Cancer treatments are of growing importance to the industry, with sales rising 17% to $24 billion last year. The class has become the third most important to the industry and sales growth is expected to continue in an increasingly competitive field.
Data was presented on various cancers from early to late stage development, with a focus on new targeted drugs.
MabThera: Roche and Genentech's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treatment MabThera (rituximab) can almost double a patient's remission time, according to new data. The evidence shows that MabThera can help extend remission when used as a maintenance therapy.
Avastin: Data was also presented on Roche and Genentech's Avastin, which has now shown clinical benefits across three major cancer killers: breast, lung and bowel cancer.
Xeloda: Roche's Xeloda (capecitabine) should replace the standard chemotherapy treatment for colon cancer, according to its manufacturer. The Swiss firm produced new evidence that Xeloda displays fewer side-effects than 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin for the post-surgery treatment of colon cancer. Xeloda is an oral medication which can be taken at home, unlike the standard intravenous treatment.
Erbitux: The colon cancer drug invented by ImClone and marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb, proved more effective when given with Roche and Genentech's Avastin. The drug proved more effective when given with its rival drug for metastatic cancer, than when administered alone.
ZK-EPO: Schering's new cancer drug displayed evidence of anti-tumour activity in patients with advanced disease. ZK-EPO is an epothilone – a new class of cytotoxic drug which, according to its manufacturers, has the potential to replace the taxane class of chemotherapy drugs for the treatment of various cancers.
AS1404: UK company Antisoma announced its vascular disrupting drug, AS1404, has started phase II trials. The drug works by attacking established tumour blood vessels and is undergoing trials for the treatment of prostate and non-small cell lung cancer. Antisoma also plans to reopen phase I trials for AS1411, its anti-nucleolin aptamer drug, targeting patients with renal and non-small cell lung cancer.
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