Point Roberts WA, New York, NY – February 19, 2014 (Investorideas.com Biotech Newswire) Investorideas.com global news source covering leading sectors including biotech and pharma reports on companies in the sector targeting pancreatic cancer. Stocks mentioned include NewLink Genetics (NLNK), Sunshine Biopharma Inc. ( OTCBB: SBFM ), Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) and Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG).
The Pharmacor Pancreatic Cancer report also finds that significant commercial reward awaits developers of therapies that are more effective and better tolerated than the FOLFIRINOX regimen in this disease, as the need for efficacious, well-tolerated therapies will remain through 2022.
NewLink Genetics (NASDAQ:NLNK) has been of the top gainers for 2014,gaining over 90%.NewLink’s portfolio includes biologic and small molecule immunotherapy product candidates intended to treat a wide range of oncology indications.
Their product, RAlgenpantucel-L is an investigational HyperAcute™ immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer. The product consists of 2 pancreatic cancer cell lines (HAPa-1 and HAPa-2) that have been genetically modified to express alpha-gal carbohydrates on cell surface molecules.1 Upon injection into the patient, the alpha-gal stimulates an immune response against pancreatic cancer-specific antigens in the tumor cell lines. The patient’s immune system then targets its own pancreatic cancer cells, destroying them.1 In the adjuvant setting, the immune response targets and eradicates residual tumor cells in conjunction with chemotherapy and chemoradiation.1,2.
Algenpantucel-L is currently being studied in combination with standard of care in two phase 3 trials:
Last fall the company reported greater than expected responses to follow-on chemotherapy after treatment with algenpantucel-L or tergenpumatucel-L HyperAcute immunotherapy. Three pancreatic cancer patients were followed for response to subsequent salvage chemotherapy treatment after progressing on algenpantucel-L therapy. All three patients experienced durable (12-36 months), complete responses.
Sunshine Biopharma Inc. ( OTCBB:SBFM ), a pharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of various forms of cancer, recently announced that it is targeting pancreatic cancer as second indication for its leading compound, Adva-27a.
As previously announced, Adva-27a was found to be effective at killing Pancreatic Cancer Cells in vitro. Based on initial data, the company is now advancing research using Adva-27a for pancreatic cancer treatment.
The initial study, as reported in June 2013, was carried out in the very aggressive Pancreatic Cancer cell line, Panc-1. Adva-27a was able to kill these cells with an IC50 of less than 4 micromolar, a pharmacologically very favorable drug concentration.
Adva-27a is Sunshine Biopharma’s lead anticancer compound, a small molecule that has recently been shown to be effective at killing multidrug resistant breast cancer cells, small-cell lung cancer cells, uterine sarcoma cells and pancreatic cancer cells (Published in ANTICANCER RESEARCH, Volume 32, Pages 4423-4432, October 2012). Adva-27a is currently in the IND-Enabling stage of development. The original U.S. patent covering Adva-27a was issued on August 7, 2012 under US patent number 8,236,935.
According to Global Industry Analysts, Inc. in their recent report, “Eli Lilly’s (NYSE:LLY) Gemzar (Gemcitabine) is the current gold standard of care for locally advanced and metastatic disease, with a dominance that is undisputed despite a median survival of less than 6 months and rate of one-year survival of around 18%, as stated by the new market research report on Pancreatic cancer drugs. Though the odds of survival are somewhat better in other forms of cancer, the rate of five-year survival for the most common form of pancreatic cancer, Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas is less than 5%, with majority of patients surviving just a few months. “
