Word: avastin
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Based upon the research of a Harvard affiliated doctor, Avastin is the first drug on the market that works by shutting down the blood vessels surrounding a colorectal tumor, starving it of blood and nutrients...
That may soon change. Researchers are looking beyond aspirin and other multipurpose medications to experimental drugs that block inflammation more precisely. Any day now, Genentech is expecting a decision from the FDA on its colon-cancer drug, Avastin, which targets one of the growth factors released by the body as inflammation gives way to healing. Millennium Pharmaceuticals is testing a different kind of drug, called Velcade, which has already been approved for treating multiple myeloma, against lung cancer and other malignancies. But there is a sense that much more basic research into the nature of inflammation needs to be done...
COLON: There's a good alternative to the dreaded colonoscopy. Tests showed that virtual colonoscopy, which images the colon by combining C.T. scans, can be as reliable at detecting tumors--provided the right 3-D software is used. And in the first trial of its kind, Avastin, a drug designed to starve a tumor by cutting off its blood supply, showed promise against colon cancer when used in conjunction with chemotherapy. Doctors are exploring its use against other solid tumors...
...AVASTIN Avastin could become the first of a new class of cancer drugs called angiogenesis inhibitors, which tackle tumors by thwarting their ability to create blood vessels. Because Genentech has requested fast-track consideration from the FDA, the agency should decide by early next year whether to approve Avastin for treating colorectal cancer...
...market started to find its footing last July, U.S. biotech shares have risen 57%. Another bubble? Not necessarily. Many of the companies have marched steadily closer to bringing products to market. MedImmune's inhalable flu preventive FluMist was approved in mid-June. In May, Genentech's colon-cancer drug Avastin stunned scientists with its effectiveness in trials and is widely expected to be approved soon. Dozens of other products are in the works. "We're starting to see the fruits of biotech research," says Kenneth Carter, ceo of Avalon Pharmaceuticals, which is working on three cancer drugs. The excitement owes...