I found this at Bloomberg. It mentions ISIP several paragraphs down.
John
New Therapies Offer Choices for Prostate Cancer: Medical Market
New Therapies Offer Choices for Prostate Cancer: Medical Market
Redondo Beach, California, Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Bruce Binder, a 52-year-old computer specialist, said he would rather die than undergo the removal of his cancerous prostate gland -- a surgery that would keep him alive while destroying his sex life.
A decade ago, the only alternative to treatments that caused impotence or incontinence was to wait and pray. Binder and others like him, however, demanded new treatments for a disease rarely discussed in the past and often overlooked. ''I couldn't think about living my life without sex and wearing a diaper,'' said Binder, who was newly married when diagnosed five years ago. ''I would have done nothing about the cancer and just taken a year off to die.''
He didn't have to do that, as novel uses of existing therapies and millions of dollars spent on research is yielding promising new treatments.
Companies such as Boston Life Sciences Inc. and Cell Genesys Inc. are working on everything from a vaccine to gene therapy, while advances by others like Theragenics Corp. and UroMed Corp. have made existing procedures more effective with fewer side effects. ''There are a lot of exciting things going on right now,'' said Dr. Robert C. Flanigan, chairman of Loyola University Medical Center's Department of Urology. Most of the research is in its infancy, however, and it will be years before the treatments are deemed effective, he said.
Binder eventually was treated with cryosurgery, which freezes and kills the tumor while leaving healthy tissue unharmed. He has remained disease-free with no after-effects for five years.
Candela Corp., Cryomedical Sciences Inc., and ENDOcare Inc. all make cryosurgery equipment.
Chemical Castration
The potential market for prostate cancer is huge. Drugs for chemical castration, which combat hormones that stimulate the cancer, alone generate more than $1 billion in annual sales, said Hambrecht & Quist analyst Alex Zisson.
These drugs, made by TAP Holdings Inc. -- a joint venture between Japan's Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. and Abbott Laboratories -- Zeneca Group Plc, and Schering-Plough Corp., can reduce cancers and relieve pain for those with advanced cancer, but don't actually cure it. While the drugs can prolong a patient's life by two or three years, they cause impotence.
A decade ago, Eli Lilly & Co. introduced a simple blood test, now sold by Beckman Instruments Inc., to detect the disease. It supplemented the painful and sometimes ineffective digital rectal exam -- and sent the diagnosis rate soaring among younger and younger men.
Most Frequent
Prostate cancer now is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in the U.S., with more than 300,000 new cases every year. It is the second leading cause of cancer death among men, killing 41,400 annually. The prostate gland, located at the base of the bladder, produces part of the seminal fluid and keeps the lining of the urethra moist.
Few men were willing to talk about prostate cancer because of the side effects of the treatment. As a result, it has been neglected when industry and government spend research dollars. Breast cancer research, for example, receives four times the federal funding, even though the diseases have similar death rates. ''There is an increasing awareness of prostate cancer and there are more and more attempts now to bring the message to the public,'' said Dr. Culley Carson, chief of urology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and editor-in-chief of Contemporary Urology.
Education is helped by high-profile patients like former Sen. Robert Dole, former junk-bond king Michael Milken and General Norman Schwarzkopf, who have openly discussed the previously taboo subject.
In the meantime, research is progressing.
Cell Genesys's vaccine uses genetically modified tumor cells to produce a substance that stimulates the immune system and helps it destroy the cancer. Medarex Inc.'s MDX-210, meanwhile, has shown some benefit in patients with advanced disease, while Immunex Corp.'s Novantrone was approved last year to relieve pain for patients who don't benefit from other treatments.
Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. is working with Novartis AG on antisense technology, which disables the genetic instructions of cancer cells. Introgen Therapeutics Inc.'s adenoviral-p53 gene therapy is designed to help the immune system identify and kill cancerous cells, while Boston Life Science's Troponin I anti- angiogenic drug may block blood flow to tumors. Another promising avenue is refining existing treatments. Theragenics sells rice-sized seeds containing a radioactive substance that, when inserted in the tumor, destroys it from inside. Johnson & Johnson recently agreed to help market it, and analysts say the therapy could generate $600 million in annual sales.
UroMed Corp. just won approval for its CaverMap Surgical Aid, which helps surgeons identify and avoid nerves critical for erections when removing the prostate gland. Merck & Co. is studying Proscar, its drug for treating prostate enlargement, to see if it can reduce the risk of developing the cancer.
A key issue in treating prostate cancer is trying to determine which tumors will grow and do harm, and those that will lie dormant.
Cytogen Corp.'s ProstaScint, an imaging agent, is used by doctors to help determine if cancer has spread beyond the prostate. And a new, advanced test from Diagnostic Products Corp. is expected to help monitor and identify the more aggressive tumors. ''If you're running a business that's focused on new cancer treatments, it makes sense that you would focus on prostate cancer,'' said Stephen A. Sherwin, an oncologist who is chairman, president and chief executive of Cell Genesys Inc. ''It's one of the most common cancers and an incurable cancer. There is a tremendous need.
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