Scientists have devised an innovative way to disarm a key protein considered to be "undruggable," meaning that all previous efforts to develop a drug against it have failed. Their discovery, published in the November 12 issue of Nature, lays the foundation for a new kind of therapy aimed directly at a critical human protein — one of a few thousand so-called transcription factors &…

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Gaithersburg, Md. - GenVec, Inc. (Nasdaq: GNVC) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to TNFerade(TM) for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

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El Segundo, Calif. -- In recognition of National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is issuing a challenge to increase the number of people aware of the deadly disease through an online interactive campaign "Pancreatic Cancer: Know it. Fight it. End it."

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Tiny particles that can carry drugs and target cancer cells may offer treatment hope for those suffering with pancreatic cancer. New research to be presented in November at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting in Los Angeles reveals that tumor-penetrating microparticles (TPM) have been specifically designed to break through hard-to-infiltrate barriers and…

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Oslo, Norway -- Clavis Pharma ASA (OSE: CLAVIS); the clinical stage oncology focused pharmaceutical company, announces today that the European Commission has granted Orphan Drug Designation (Orphan Medicinal Product) for Intravenous CP-4126 for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. The designation follows the recommendation given by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) in September this year.

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DETROIT -- A Henry Ford Hospital study found that hepatitis B does not increase the risk for pancreatic cancer – and that only age is a contributing factor.The results contradict a previous study in 2008 that suggested a link between pancreatic cancer and previous hepatitis B infection. Hepatitis B is an inflammation of the liver caused by a viral infection.Study results will be presented…

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A United States health department advisory group this month produced a new draft report on gene patenting and licensing with recommendations suggesting that excessive patenting can limit patients’ access to gene testing and might not foster genetic research. The recommendations were supported by a variety of health professionals but put the biotechnology industry on edge.

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SALT LAKE CITY - Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MYGN) today announced it has obtained from Johns Hopkins University a world-wide, exclusive license to patents covering mutations in the PALB2 gene that increase an individual's risk for developing pancreatic cancer later in life.

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According to a study reported in the medical journal Gut, people who face a high genetic risk of any form of pancreatic cancer may not benefit much from routine screening for the disease.Though the researchers, led by Dr. Peter Langer of Philipps-University Marburg in Germany, noted that the results of routine pancreatic cancer screening are generally dismal in hereditary cases; they, nonetheless…

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REDWOOD CITY, Calif. and PRINCETON, N.J. - Threshold Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:THLD), and Eleison Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced the execution of a licensing agreement granting Eleison Pharmaceuticals exclusive worldwide rights to glufosfamide.Glufosfamide is a novel small molecule that has been evaluated by Threshold in a Phase 3 clinical trial and multiple Phase 2 clinical trials.

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