May 2017 - Bionest

31

May 2017

Bionest

FDA Changes the Game: First Cancer Drug Approval Based on Biomarker

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued its first drug approval to a treatment for patients with a specific genetic biomarker, rather than based on an initial tumor location, such as breast cancer. On May 23, the agency granted an accelerated approval to Merck’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients...

26

May 2017

Bionest

It’s ASCO Time Once Again!

ASCO is the largest annual gathering of the worldwide oncology community, and this year’s event takes place this coming weekend, from June 2-6 in Chicago, Illinois. About 10 days ago, the association released its program and a wide slate of abstracts that have given way to plenty of media reports and speculation about what other...

23

May 2017

Bionest

And They’re Off….. Watching the CAR-T Race

On March 29, Novartis announced that the US Food and Drug Administration had accepted the company’s BLA filings for CTL019 (tisagenlecleucel-T) for the treatment of pediatric and young adult patients with relapsed and refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Two days later, Kite Pharma announced that they had completed the rolling submission for their own...

16

May 2017

Bionest

A Look at Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Part 3 – The Increasing Activism and Influence of Patient Advocacy Groups

On September 19, 2016 the US Food and Drug Administration approved Sarepta’s Exondys 51 (eteplirsen) injection, the first drug approved to treat the underlying cause of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Exondys 51 is specifically indicated for patients who have a confirmed mutation of the dystrophin gene amenable to exon 51 skipping, which affects about 13...

8

May 2017

Bionest

A Look at Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Part 2 – About DMD, and Approaches to Treatment, Old and New

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a rare genetic disease characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. It is one of the most frequent genetic disorders, affecting approximately 1 of 3,600 (primarily) male children. The disease is caused by a mutation in the gene for dystrophin on the X chromosome that results in the absence of...

2

May 2017

Bionest

A Look at Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Part 1 – Marathon Pharmaceuticals, PTC Therapeutics, and Drug Pricing

In February of this year, Marathon Pharmaceuticals received approval for Emflaza (deflazacort) tablets and oral suspension for the treatment of patients over the age of five years with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), regardless of the particular genetic mutation associated with their condition. The drug — an older corticosteroid with no patent protection which has...