Anna Wagstaff looks at changes in the business, regulatory and science arenas that could open the way to delivering better cancer treatments, faster and cheaper. Of 91 new therapies approved for solid tumours between 2002 [more]
Looking for anticancer activity among off-patent drugs that are already approved to treat other conditions might seem a sensible way to speed up access to affordable new therapy options. Linda Geddes asks how such a [more]
The new HPV vaccines have shown impressive results in their target population, but if immunisation programmes come at the expense of existing or planned cytological screening, deaths from cervical cancer may increase. Download full article
Personal genetic signatures may help assess a person’s risk of getting cancer, predict risk of recurrence, or identify the best treatment for them. At a Meet the Experts session, nine ASCO luminaries explained to press [more]
European countries struggle to fund new cancer drugs which bring benefits at a high price. Meanwhile billions of euros are wasted, say researchers, because doctors prescribe branded drugs when a generic equivalent is just as [more]
EMEA’s new system for fast-tracking drugs aims to offer quicker access to promising new therapies without jeopardising essential research. Draft Guidance on the use of the new conditional marketing approval procedure will shortly be published, [more]
The use of nucleic acid therapies to block RNA function was first described in 1978. The latest generation of these compounds, LNA antagonists, is now overcoming the main obstacle to the success of its predecessors, [more]
Clinical research activity may be plummeting in the rest of Europe, but in France they’re determined to substantially increase the numbers of hospitals and patients involved in clinical trials starting with a strategic trial [more]
Herceptin may turn out to be the biggest advance in treating breast cancer since tamoxifen. But if we are to prevent soaring drugs bills eating up our health budgets or barring Europe’s poorer patients from [more]
A discovery made simultaneously by two groups of US researchers may help lung cancer patients who relapse after an initial response to novel targeted therapies. Download full article
A number of cancer vaccines are now entering the final stage of clinical development. Are vaccines finally on their way to enjoying mainstream success in the oncology arena? Download full article
Do animal models reliably predict toxic effects in humans, or are they actually blocking development of vital new drugs? Two recent major health scares have reignited the old debate. Download full article
Delivering drugs through the blood-brain barrier has always confounded scientists, but new developments in both non-invasive targeted brain delivery and brain-implanted drug formulations may provide a way forward. Download full article