New developments in pancreatic cancer @AACR - Pharma Strategy Blog. Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease with a generally poor prognosis, largely because it is usually detected in late stage disease where chemotherapy options generally have a limited effect. Typically response rates with gemcitabine are around 5%, with advanced patients living around 5-6 months on average. Erlotinib, an EGFR inhibitor, is also approved in the USA for treatment of the disease, but the therapy only adds approximately two weeks to survival. Many doublets and triplets have been tried and tested over the last 10 years, with little impact on survival. It was, therefore, exciting to see some young researchers presenting interesting and novel strategies at AACR this week to try and evade the resistance inherent in the disease.
Recently, Nab-paclitaxel (abraxane) has been granted orphan drug status in pancreatic and melanoma cancers. Two of the other interesting ideas came from a research group at the Massachusetts General Hospital here in Boston. Celgene buy Abraxis Bioscience for $2.9B - Pharma Strategy Blog. I did a double take at my inbox alerts this morning as things have been rather quiet of late in the Pharma and Biotech world. You can read the financial aspects of the deal in Celgene's press release. While the timing might be a little bit of a surprise, the strategic acquisition is not and makes a lot of commercial sense for Celgene. There are a number of reasons for my thinking here: Late last year, while at the AACR Molecular Targets meeting in Boston, I wrote about nanoparticle technology and how it appears to offer a chance of improved outcomes in pancreatic cancer using Abraxane.
Of course, most oncology specialists will know that melanoma, pancreatic and lung cancers as probably three of the four toughest cancers to get positive results in from phase III trials (the fourth is glioblastoma), but if any of them actually pan out with a significant difference in overall survival and FDA approval, then Celgene will have another winner on it's hands. Childhood's Cures Haunted by Adulthood's 'Late Effects' -- Marder 328 (5985): 1474 -- Science. Obesity increases the risk of cancer death among Asians too | Booster Shots | Los Angeles Times. Historically, obesity has been a problem of western countries. For instance, nearly 1 in 3 Americans is obese (defined as having a body mass index that tops 30), as are about 1 in 4 members of the United Kingdom. According to this ranking compiled with data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the most obese countries in Asia are Japan and South Korea, where a mere 3.2% of the population has a BMI over 30.
But with obesity rates rising in China, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore and other Asian countries, an international group of researchers wondered how those extra pounds might be raising the risk of death from cancer. After all, adding 5 points to one’s BMI is known to increase the risk of cancer among Caucasians by 10% to 60%. Was the same true for Asians? To find out, they analyzed data from 424,519 people who were part of the Asia-Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration. . — Karen Kaplan. MELA's Stock Sale Suggests Problems for Skin Cancer Detector.
Update: MELA Sciences priced 2.2 million shares of stock at $7.50 a share Wednesday. MELA expects to gross about $17.5 million, including the sale of over-allotment shares. MELA tried to get $8 a share for the stock offering Tuesday night, according to a source familiar with the deal terms. IRVINGTON, NY (TheStreet) -- MELA Sciences (MELA_) CEO Joseph Gulfo explained to investors on a Tuesday night conference call that the company decided to raise money now -- just two months shy of an all-important FDA advisory panel reviewing the company's melanoma skin cancer detection device -- because investors are worried that MELA is running short on cash.
Hmm... Really? An FDA panel convenes Aug. 26 votes to review MELA's MELAFind, a computer-enhanced imaging device that takes high-tech pictures of suspect moles and lesions to assist doctors in the early detection of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. It would if MELA were confident in a positive panel vote. Celgene strikes $2.9B deal to acquire Abraxis. With an eye to burnishing its oncology rep and its already sizable revenue, Celgene has struck a deal to buy Abraxis BioScience for cash and stock totaling $2.9 billion. The buyout gives Celgene control of Abraxane, now approved for breast cancer treatment, along with its discovery platform and a pipeline of experimental therapies. In exchange for every share of Abraxis, Celgene will pay $58 a share in cash and 0.2617 of a share of Celgene.
That values Abraxis' shares at $71.93, a 17 percent bump on yesterday's close. Abraxis shareholders also stand to gain up to $650 million in additional milestone payments if Abraxane is approved for lung and pancreatic cancers. In addition to a slate of ongoing trials for Abraxane, Abraxis has one mid-stage trial underway, a Phase I and three preclinical programs listed on its website. Celgene clearly believes that it can do a better job marketing Abraxane. Sign up for our FREE newsletter for more news like this sent to your inbox! Ethnic Supplies Ltd's Photos - Ethnic Supplies At BBC GWL. The Gov't Controls Google's Search Results for Your Brand. Surprised? | ePharma Rx. Did you notice that lately, every time you search for a pharma brand on Google, the #1 organic result is always the NIH? Always? Always. It's not the brand.com site anymore. And it's no coincidence. Here's an example: Want to learn more?
On June 21st, Google launched a new feature in search results that they are calling “Medication Search.” I've blogged in the past about Big Government going after pharma and pharma marketers. What do you think? The implications - to me - should be a bit frightening to us all. UPDATE: Here's a little more information and context on the switch from Search Engine Land. Celgene Acquires Abraxis for $2.9 Billion. SUMMIT, N.J. (TheStreet) -- Celgene (CELG_) is acquiring Abraxis BioScience (ABII) for $2.9 billion in cash and stock to expand its cancer drug business, the company announced Wednesday. Celgene is one of the largest biotech companies in the world, with revenue of $2.7 billion last year coming mainly from drugs like Revlimid used to treat cancers of the blood. By acquiring Abraxis, Celgene gains ownership of a drug used to treat breast cancer patients and expands the company's commercial operations into the solid tumor market.
"The acquisition of Abraxis BioScience is an exceptional strategic fit that will accelerate our strategy of becoming a global leader in oncology," said Bob Hugin, Celgene's CEO, in a statement. Under terms of the agreement, each Abraxis share will be exchanged for $58 in cash and 0.2617 of a share of Celgene common stock. The deal values Abraxis at $71.93 a share, or a 17% premium over the stock's Tuesday closing price of $61.31. I'm Had Enough: Half of BC Survivors Stop Tamoxifen Early. 30 habits that will improve your life. Our worst habits are always the hardest ones to break, but if you can manage to insert at least a few of these positive habits into your daily routine, you’ll be ahead of the game.
See a few below: Drink a glass of water when you wake up. Your body is dehydrated when you wake up, resolve that issue early and kickstart your day.Solve puzzles. Word games, sudoku, and quizzes are a great way to exercise your brain.Make quick decisions. See all thirty at Freestyle Mind. Lifehacks make life easier. Photo credit: Fotolia. Quick Financial Fixes - Forbes.com. How cognitive surplus will change the world: Clay Shirky - Pharma Strategy Blog. A Different Look at Community Management « Social Media Monitoring and Engagement – Radian6. Community management isn’t what it used to be. Once upon a time, managing a community meant hanging out in an online location – be it a forum or a chat room – and moderating chat. Approving comments. Handling some support issues. Dealing with trolls, helping people with questions. That kind of thing. But community management, at least the way we approach it, isn’t just online issues management and discussion moderation anymore.
It’s a far more fundamental business role, one that ties together responsibilities from a number of different places, both online and off. Folks are sometimes surprised to learn about how large our team is, or how it’s structured, mostly because they’re thinking of community management as it’s always been. Online Engagement This is the area you probably think of first when you think about community management in today’s world. Business Development Make no mistake, community management is part of the lead cultivation process. Internal Communication & Collaboration. Finding pharma on your mobile device (early opportunities for exploration) Before looking at pharma companies testing out the mobile space, I want to introduce you to another healthcare organization that is diligently studying this channel. A hospital system, you say? Nope.
Insurance plan? Sorry. It's actually none other than the US government. At the Business Development Institute (BDI) Social Communications and Healthcare Conference last month, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Social Media Strategist Ann Aikin presented "Going Social 4 Health Impact," which you can view thanks to VEOMED. Aikin came to New York armed with all kinds of data and some great case studies describing the CDC's efforts on YouTube and in the teen community Whyville. Last fall, the CDC invited Americans to opt in for text messages about a variety of health topics.
One key finding: 91% of participants surveyed said the text messages they received were easy to understand—a big win for the CDC's application of health literacy principles to a challenging medium. Chain of transplants gives 14 kidney patients new life. It started with a tragedy and ended with a priceless gift to 14 people. Jennifer Whitford, a 24-year-old mother of two from Sebring, Fla., died accidentally on May 24. Her mother decided to donate her organs, and a national kidney registry found a perfectly matched recipient: Brenda Wolfe, 44, of Mount Airy, Md. Two days after Whitford's death, one of her kidneys was transplanted into Wolfe at Georgetown University Hospital. And that might have been the end of it: an everyday medical miracle.
But Wolfe's husband decided the miracle did not have to stop there. Because Brenda had received her kidney from a deceased person, Ralph could have left the pool with a clear conscience. "A precious daughter, a precious daughter died and gave my wife life," said Ralph, 48, "and I'm going to be so selfish to say, 'I'm going to hold on to this kidney, just in case'? " So, 13 days later, he donated a kidney to Gary Johnson, 63, a taxi driver from Hyattsville.
Phil's Vacation: Day +5. Phil's Bone Marrow. 800,000 Strong Boycott BP Facebook Fan Page Mysteriously Vanishes. Updates at the foot of the article. Porter Novelli unveils global service for brands experiencing social media crises. The agency’s ‘Real-Time Reputation Specialty’ offering aims to help clients by providing pre-emptive communications through to programmes that restore corporate reputation after an incident. ‘We’ve seen a lot of global organisations face unprecedented corporate communications challenges recently, which have brought a sharp focus on the importance of responding at the right time, in the right place, with the right tone,’ said Porter Novelli corporate practice leader Neil Bayley.
‘Think about Toyota, Eurostar, Nestlé and British Airways. Clients need a different type and scale of support in the social media era compared with the corporate counsel of old, and that is what is at the heart of our Real-Time Reputation Specialty.’ The new reputation management group is led by a team of specialists in corporate communications and social media. Many Americans overtreated to death - Health - Cancer. The doctors finally let Rosaria Vandenberg go home. For the first time in months, she was able to touch her 2-year-old daughter who had been afraid of the tubes and machines in the hospital. The little girl climbed up onto her mother's bed, surrounded by family photos, toys and the comfort of home. They shared one last tender moment together before Vandenberg slipped back into unconsciousness. Vandenberg, 32, died the next day. That precious time at home could have come sooner if the family had known how to talk about alternatives to aggressive treatment, said Vandenberg's sister-in-law, Alexandra Drane.
Instead, Vandenberg, a pharmacist in Franklin, Mass., had endured two surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation for an incurable brain tumor before she died in July 2004. "We would have had a very different discussion about that second surgery and chemotherapy. Yet the numbers show that's not what is happening: Then she called Dr. It's easier said than done. "He had these horrific rashes. UK scrambles to keep 'dozen eggs' in EU battle. 28 June 2010Last updated at 16:23 By Laurence Peter BBC News UK food producers are lobbying to retain labelling by numbers UK officials say they will defend food producers' right to label groceries by number, amid fears that the EU may consign "a dozen" eggs to history.
Efforts to standardise food labels across the 27-nation EU have gained momentum with new draft legislation going through the European Parliament. MEPs backed labels indicating weight or volume, but rejected labels that just show the number of items in a pack. A UK minister said the EU should allow shoppers to "buy eggs by the dozen". "We know what customers want. Conservative MEP Syed Kamall warned that "millions of pounds could be wasted by shops and bakers having to change packaging just to comply" with the new legislation. Too many cooks? EU countries currently have exemptions allowing some pre-packed foods to be labelled by number alone - for example, a dozen eggs or four bread rolls. Continue reading the main story. Steve Woodruff - Yeah, this works...! - TwitVid. Gefitinib or Chemotherapy for Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer with Mutated EGFR - Pharma Strategy Blog. Regulation of PTEN/Akt and MAP kinase signaling pathways by the ubiquitin ligase activators Ndfip1 and Ndfip2 [Cell_Biology]
Early dinner, something tasty to go with it and then several. Eidogen-Sertanty. Warfarin For Early Cancer Detection? 2010 FIFA World Cup: No doping positives for 4th straight World Cup. Chicago Journals - The Journal of Infectious Diseases. Podcamp Boston 5! - PCB5- Eventbrite. Apple Nation. Share photos on Twitter. Eye on FDA: Clinical Trials and YouTube. Eye on FDA: Growing Use of Video Related to Clinical Trials. Inexpensive camera diagnoses cancer. Web-Based, Participant-Driven Studies Yield Novel Genetic Associations for Common Traits.
@blehr11 neither but this was yummy. A Grand Hyatt Stay « StickyFigure.