Genome study brings blood cancer into sharp focus

Bio Technician demonstrates the loading of the high tech 454 Life Science sequencing machine in the sequencing laboratory at the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, Maryland, in this March 29, 2010 file photo.

Credit: Reuters/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: SCI TECH)

Image via Wikipedia(Reuters) - 

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO | Wed Mar 23, 2011 2:17pm EDT
 

Scientists have mapped out the full genetic code of 38 people with multiple myeloma, uncovering never-before suspected genes that play a role in the blood cancer and showing that a promising new drug might help.

Studying the genetic blueprint of so many people with this cancer allows researchers to have a much more comprehensive picture of what drives the cancer, and it gives drug companies much better clues about how to shut down the disease.

"If we compare the tumor genome to the normal genome, that gives us great clues about what makes a normal cell into a cancer cell," said Todd Golub of the Broad Institute and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who helped lead the study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Is ArQule The Next Dendreon?

Image via Wikipedia This stock has been on my radar for a couple of months. Arqule could be the next Dendreon. It is a cash cow and needs a little more clinical trial data before I pull the trigger but I will continue to watch this stock. I will keep you up to date if anything changes. Currently AQ197 is entering Phase III clinical trials for non-small cell lung cancer with Japanese partner Daiichi Sankyo.

ArQule:  (ARQL)
Daiichi Sankyo:  (Tokyo: 4568)

ArQule's sky-high, but there still could be upside

By Val Brickates Kennedy, MarketWatch June 4, 2010

Comprehensive List of Drug Approvals From 2009

Image by boodoo via Flickr I found a nice list of all the drugs approved in 2009 and their respectable companies.

Those of note were Glaxo SmithKline (GSK) with HPV vaccine, H1N1, seasonal flu vaccine, renal carcinoma, and lymphocyte leukemia.

Novartis (NVS) for H1N1, seasonal flu vaccine, MS, malaria, and schizophrenia.

Schering-Plough, now Merck (MRK) , for schizophrenia. Schering was bought out for their extensive drug pipeline of numerous upcoming drugs.

Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) had an antiarrhythmic drug, along with another flu vaccine for elderly patients. Sanofi is getting snuffed out with the Genzyme takeover bid but the bidding could still continue.

Others included Takeda Pharmaceuticals (TKPHF), Cypress Biosciences/Forest Labs, Allos Therapeutics, Lilly/Daiichi Sankyo, Gloucester Pharmaceuticals, and Theravance.

New Anti-Clotting Drugs May Have Edge Over Top-Selling Plavix

Image via Wikipedia Health Care, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi Aventis, Eli Lilly, Astrazeneca

Several recent studies of drugs used to treat and prevent strokes appear to favor AstraZeneca's (AZN) Brilinta and Eli-Lilly's (LLY) Effient over Plavix. Plavix, co-marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and Sanofi-Aventis (SNY), is the second best-selling drug in the world.

Top Japanese BioPharma on the Move

Image via Wikipedia Top Japanese BioPharma on the Move.