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Posts tagged ‘AACR’

The MD Anderson BATTLE cancer trial – a landmark in NSCLC

April 27th, 2011

Daedalus

The results from the BATTLE (Biomarker-Integrated Approaches of Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer elimination) clinical trial in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) undertaken at MD Anderson Cancer Center were recently published in the new AACR journal Cancer Discovery.

The BATTLE study is a landmark in that tumor biopsies were done in “real time” with adaptive randomization to erlotinib, vandetanib, erlotinib plus bexarotene or sorafenib based on relevant molecular biomarkers from the needle biopsy specimens.

Sally Church who did her doctoral research on the early detection of lung disease, has does an excellent job on Pharma Strategy Blog of reviewing the findings from this landmark clinical trial. She discusses the latest results presented by Dr Waun ki Hong in the plenary session at the recent AACR annual meeting in Orlando.

Using Storify to integrate multimedia about the BATTLE trial, Sally explains why this is a ground breaking study.  You can read more on Pharma Strategy Blog.

 


Understanding why melanoma patients develop resistance to PLX4032

April 25th, 2011

Daedalus

Targeted therapies for metastatic melanoma such as PLX4032 (vemurafenib) have shown dramatic effects in patients.  However, resistance to BRAF inhibitors such as PLX4032 soon develops. The result is a need to understand how resistance occurs due to cross talk and how to overcome this through a rational drug combination strategy.

Sally Church on Pharma Strategy Blog delves into the topic of BRAF resistance with demonstrable enthusiasm.  In her insightful post she discusses data presented in the plenary session at the recent annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) by Levi Garraway from Dana Farber.

As Sally discusses in some detail, the research identified a novel mutation in the downstream kinase MEK1 that may be the reason why patients become resistant to PLX4032.

You can watch Dr Garraway’s presentation as a free AACR webcast and can read more about the important implications of this research for melanoma new product development on Pharma Strategy blog.

Why we expect QR codes to be a new social media trend

April 8th, 2011

Daedalus

At the recent annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Orlando, Sally Church on Pharma Strategy Blog, chose a poster by patient advocate, Leslie Hammersmith as “My AACR Poster of the Day.”  A hard won accolade in a field of more than 5000 posters!

One of the attractions of this poster, (and you can read more about why Sally chose it on Pharma Strategy Blog) was its use of social media, and particular quick response (QR) codes.

Icarus Consultants QR Code Why we expect QR codes to be a new social media trendQR codes are a matrix bar code that is now easily readable by smart phones, you can readily find apps for the iPhone. By scanning the QR code using the camera in the phone you are automatically directed to further information – whether it be a copy of the poster, a scientific paper or a website.

As Sally said in her blog post about Leslie’s poster, “The clever use of QR codes made me want it on all the science posters too.”  A few other science researchers did have QR codes on their posters, and we see this as a social media trend that will expand.

We will be adding a QR code to our next print run of business cards, will you?

New drugs will change the Prostate Cancer market

April 8th, 2011

Daedalus

As marketing strategy consultants, it’s fascinating to watch the dynamics of a pharmaceutical market in rapid evolution.

With three new therapies for prostate cancer approved last year (cabazitaxel, denosumab, sipuleucel-T) and the approval of abiraterone acetate expected this month, the prostate cancer market is a fast changing one.

This is really good news for patients, and for a disease that effects 1 in 6 men in the United States, and is the most common non-skin cancer.

AACR 2011 Annual Meeting Banner 150x150 New drugs will change the Prostate Cancer marketPieter Droppert on Biotech Strategy Blog has some commentary from the recent annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) on additional new products in development that may change the landscape of this disease further.

You can read more about this on Biotech Strategy Blog.

AACR 2011 Orlando Annual Meeting – Cover it Live Coverage

April 2nd, 2011

Daedalus

AACR annual meeting in sunny orlando 300x225 AACR 2011 Orlando Annual Meeting   Cover it Live CoverageGreetings from sunny Orlando and the AACR 102nd annual meeting 2011, one of the highlights of the year for those interested in the science of cancer and emerging new products.

For those of you who couldn’t afford a last minute Continental flight from Newark (does it really cost $600 to fly to Orlando?), Pharma Strategy Blog has a Covert it Live widget that aggregates all #AACR tweets.

While this is no substitute for actually attending, it does provide a window into what’s happening.  Sally Church also plans to provide a daily video update, so watch Pharma Strategy Blog for the hot news from the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.

What's hot at AACR 2011? Watch PSB Films

April 1st, 2011

Daedalus

We are excited to hear that Sally Church has produced another video to follow on from her recent video debut on Pharma Strategy Blog.

Produced by the aptly named, “PSB Films”, it is a trailer for her eagerly awaited post on “What’s hot at AACR 2011?”

Readers of Sally’s blog will know that prior to major scientific meetings such as AACR, ASCO and ASH, Sally often provides a mixture of commentary and insight on what she predicts will be hot topics.

Happy April 1st!

 

 

AACR 2011 annual meeting in Orlando

March 29th, 2011

Daedalus

Orange County Convention Center Orlando 300x225 AACR 2011 annual meeting in OrlandoSally Church, PhD will be attending the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2011 annual meeting in Orlando that starts this Saturday.

This meeting offers insight into the next generation of PI3K, Akt and mTOR inhibitors, and which compounds have promise for future clinical development.

This is Sally’s favorite meeting of the year as it gives a relaxed opportunity to meet with leading scientists in preclinical drug development and translational medicine.

There will be over 5000 posters, so we hope Sally goes with comfortable shoes for all the walking!  You can read updates from the meeting on Pharma Strategy Blog.

The future of biotech in San Francisco

March 5th, 2011

Daedalus

Embarcadero San Francisco 300x225 The future of biotech in San FranciscoWe were recently in San Francisco for the AACR PI3-Kinase meeting that was well worth attending.

The location of the meeting was excellent, close to the Embarcadero Ferry Terminal with its plethora of boutique shops and restaurants. For those who live close to New York, think of an upscale Chelsea Market on the waterfront.

San Francisco remains a major region for biotechnology innovation and development of new products.  Pieter Droppert’s reflections on the state of the biotechnology industry in San Francisco can be found on Biotech Strategy Blog.

 

AACR PI3-Kinase Conference Coverage #PI3K

February 24th, 2011

Daedalus

Sally Church on Pharma Strategy Blog will be providing live coverage of the AACR PI3-Kinase conference that starts today in San Francisco.

Sally AKA @MaverickNY will be live tweeting from the event that starts at 7pm (california time) today, Thursday, February 24 and runs through Sunday morning, February 27. The Cover it Live widget on her blog will be aggregating all the tweets that use the conference hashtag #PI3K, so if you are unable to be in San Francisco, you can follow what’s happening by clicking here.

This AACR special conference has an impressive line-up of leading key opinion leaders and experts in the field.  The keynote session this evening is on “Targeting PI3K/mTOR in breast cancer” by Jose Baselga, from Mass General.  The session chair is Lewis Cantley.

Some of the new products in development that will be discussed at the meeting include: GSK2126458, INK1117, AZD8055, MK-2206 and SAR245408 (XL147).  If you are interested in purchasing an Icarus Consultants in-depth meeting report, do contact us.

AACR Conference on Targeting PI3K/mTOR Signaling in Cancer

February 22nd, 2011

Daedalus

Sally Church, PhD will be attending the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference on the PI3K/mTOR pathway being held in San Francisco later this week, February 24-27.

Meetings such as this offer insight into the next generation of PI3K, Akt and mTOR inhibitors, and which compounds have promise for future clinical development.

If you are going to be in San Francisco for the meeting and would like to find out more about our capabilities and how we help commercial teams with new product development strategy, please contact us. It is always a pleasure to make new contacts.