Well after all the hoopla of the last few days I decided to really take a look at this company. They actually do have a cancer drug in Phase II trials right now called Thalidomide. I won't bore you with the details because I have a repost from their website below, which is very well done, by the way (www.entremed.com). They have all the pertinent info in a well organized and impressive presentation, even Wall Street coverage and
analyst estimates. Heck, it's a better website than a lot of companies that are internet plays. Anyway, the hype to me seems at least somewhat justified because the potential is huge. I have a friend who has leukemia, and I hope for his sake that these drugs are found effective in humans. Judging by the press I've read, the fast track approval of ENMD's drugs is now priority one and given the recent press, the pressure has to be even greater to
get these in clinical trials and approved so people can start being treated for a disease that heretofore has required grueling chemotherapy which can almost kill you on it's own. Here's the background info from the web site. Do your homework:
In the 1950's, thalidomide was banned
as a sedative because it caused birth
defects when taken during pregnancy.
In these cases, thalidomide had stopped
new blood growth, a process critical to
humans in the first three months of
embryonic development. In embryos, new blood vessel growth
(angiogenesis) serves as a "road map" for the growth of limbs and
organs.
Adults, if not pregnant, display new blood vessel growth in two
other cases: in wound healing and when they have pathologic
tissue growth such as in cancer. Tumors and other diseased tissue
can thrive only when tiny networks of new blood vessels supply
them with nutrients and oxygen.
Thalidomide may work on adults with diseased tissue by stemming
blood flow to the diseased tissue. Thalidomide is currently in
clinical testing to determine its efficacy. If successful, it could
receive market approval from the U.S. FDA.
Thalidomide and other drug candidates, AngiostatinTM protein,
EndostatinTM protein, and 2-Methoxyestradiol, also hold promise
for treating progressive macular degeneration (a leading cause of
blindness in the elderly), as well as progressive arthritis (by
stopping the growth of blood vessels between bones and
ligaments).
EntreMed is spearheading the revolutionary field of
antiangiogenesis as part of an exclusive agreement with the field's
pioneer, Dr. M. Judah Folkman of Children's Hospital a teaching
affiliate of the Harvard Medical School in Boston. Dr. Folkman
began work with angiogenesis more than 25 years ago.
Through EntreMed and Children's research, four compounds have
been identified which inhibit blood vessel growth:
Thalidomide
AngiostatinTM protein
EndostatinTM protein
2-Methoxyestradiol
These antiangiogenic drug candidates will initially target patients
with cancer and blindness.
Thalidomide
Thalidomide, a controversial drug banned in the 1950's, might
have been just a footnote in a medical history book if not for
EntreMed, Dr. Robert D'Amato and Dr. Judah Folkman. Today,
it may hold the key to a new way of treating cancer.
Thalidomide is an oral antiangiogenic drug being tested for the
treatment of blindness and cancer. Originally, this drug was
prescribed in Europe in the 1950's as a sedative. However, it was
soon found to cause birth defects when taken during pregnancy.
Thalidomide was never approved for use in the United States.
Decades later, Drs. D'Amato and Folkman reasoned that
thalidomide caused birth defects because it blocked the growth of
new blood vessels necessary to form limbs and organs in the
developing human embryo. This very property led these physicians
to identify thalidomide as a compound with potential in combating
life-threatening and debilitating diseases such as cancer and
blindness.
EntreMed, the National Cancer Institute and the Scheie Eye
Institute, are currently conducting clinical trials with thalidomide.
The testing includes four different cancers and two types of
macular degeneration. Thalidomide is being tested in Phase II
clinical trials in prostate, breast, brain and skin (Kaposi's sarcoma)
cancers. Interim results in brain tumors (glioblastoma multiforma)
have demonstrated potential efficacy in arresting the progression of
this fatal disease.
The clinical trials are being performed in collaboration with the
National Cancer Institute with studies underway at the National
Institutes of Health ("NIH") in Bethesda, Maryland, the Lombardi
Cancer Center at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, the
Dana-Farber Cancer Center at Harvard University in Boston, and
at the M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston. EntreMed is also
conducting Phase II clinical trials with Dr. Stuart Fine of the Scheie
Eye Institute in Philadelphia and at the Cleveland Retinal
Associates in Cleveland in age-related macular degeneration, the
leading cause of blindness in the elderly.
AngiostatinTM protein
The marvel of AngiostatinTM protein is that it's already the human
body's way of dealing with disease. It attempts to block the
growth of diseased tissue on its own, but isn't always successful,
especially in severe cases. When the body is given additional
AngiostatinTM protein, however, this naturally occurring
antiangiogenic agent could block the growth of tumors by
depriving them of their blood supply.
This novel protein was discovered in 1994 by Dr. Michael
O'Reilly and Dr. Folkman's team of researchers at Children's
Hospital, in cooperation with EntreMed. In pre-clinical studies,
tumors of the breast, prostate and colon significantly regressed
when deprived of their blood supply through treatment with this
natural antiangiogenic protein.
The use of AngiostatinTM protein could be particularly critical in
the case of multiple tumors. When a patient has multiple tumors,
the primary tumor suppresses the growth of other tumors in the
body. When the primary tumor is removed, secondary metastatic
tumors grow rapidly. It is theorized that AngiostatinTM protein
could treat all tumors in a patient effectively and simultaneously.
AngiostatinTM protein is now under development in a partnership
between EntreMed and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Extensive
pre-clinical investigation is underway at EntreMed and
Bristol-Myers Squibb to establish the critical path toward clinical
trials and regulatory approval.
To learn more about AngiostatinTM protein see:
"AngiostatinTM: A Novel Angiogenesis Inhibitor that Mediates the
Suppressive of Metastases by a Lewis Lung Carcinoma," Cell,
Vol. 79, 315-328, October 21, 1994.
"AngiostatinTM Induces and Sustains Dormancy of Human Primary
Tumors in Mice," Nature Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 6, June 1966.
Note: Statements in this document that are not descriptions of
historical facts are forward-looking and subject to risks and
uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those
currently anticipated due to a number of factors, including those
set forth in the Company's Securities & Exchange Commission
filings under "Risk Factors", including risks relating to the early
state of products under development; uncertainties relating to
clinical trials; dependence on third parties; future capital needs;
and risks relating to the commercialization, if any, of the
Company's proposed products (such as marketing, safety,
regulatory, patent, product liability, supply, competition and other
risks).
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