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Biotech / Medical : Sugen (SUGN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Miljenko Zuanic who wrote (466)	6/11/1999 8:24:00 PM
From: sim1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 550

Found this abstract from the American Journal of Pathology Dramatic Inhibition of Retinal and Choroidal Neovascularization by Oral Administration of a Kinase Inhibitor Man Seong Seo, Nohoon Kwak, Hiroaki Ozaki, Haruhiko Yamada, Naoyuki Okamoto, Eri Yamada, Doriano Fabbro, Francesco Hofmann, Jeanette M. Wood and Peter A. Campochiaro* From the Departments of Ophthalmology and Neuroscience,* The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, and the Division of Oncology Research, Pharmaceutical Division, Research and Development, Novartis Ltd. Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Basel, Switzerland The most common cause of new blindness in young patients is retinal neovascularization, and in the elderly is choroidal neovascularization. Therefore, there has been a great deal of attention focused on the development of new treatments for these disease processes. Previous studies have demonstrated partial inhibition of retinal neovascularization in animal models using antagonists of vascular endothelial growth factor or other signaling molecules implicated in the angiogenesis cascade. These studies have indicated potential for drug treatment, but have left many questions unanswered. Is it possible to completely inhibit retinal neovascularization using drug treatment with a mode of administration that is feasible to use in patients? Do agents that inhibit retinal neovascularization have any effect on choroidal neovascularization? In this study, we demonstrate complete inhibition of retinal neovascularization in mice with oxygen-induced ischemic retinopathy by oral administration of a partially selective kinase inhibitor that blocks several members of the protein kinase C family, along with vascular endothelial growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor receptor tyrosine kinases. The drug also blocks normal vascularization of the retina during development but has no identifiable adverse effects on mature retinal vessels. In addition, the kinase inhibitor causes dramatic inhibition of choroidal neovascularization in a laser-induced murine model. These data provide proof of concept that pharmacological treatment is a viable approach for therapy of both retinal and choroidal neovascularization. amjpathol.org Full text of the article: amjpathol.org

To: Miljenko Zuanic who wrote (466)	6/11/1999 10:34:00 PM
From: gao seng	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 550

I saw that article, but couldn't find any company related to it. Very interesting connection to Sugen, thanks. Also, I can't really tie this article into any one company, but it sounds even better than blow your socks off, says cancer melts in front of your eyes! Gene Therapy Tried Out On Cancer, But It's Tricky Full Coverage Breast Cancer Research By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Dr. Michael Lotze and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania injected immune system genes into a patient with skin cancer, they literally saw her tumor melt before their eyes, they said Thursday. They, and several other teams of researchers, hope they can use the still-young science of gene therapy to rev up the immune system to fight off cancer. But they are finding it tricky. Reporting to a meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy in Washington, they said there are still unexpected side-effects from the cancer treatments. Michael Lotze and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, Japan's Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and Seoul National University tried using interleukin 12 (IL-12), an immune system signaling chemical, or cytokine, which calls in cells that then attack tumors. In one group of advanced cancer patients, who had agreed to test the approach, they took out a few skin cells and introduced the genes for IL-12. They grew these cells in a laboratory dish and later injected them into the tumors. The response was immediate, as demonstrated in one woman with melanoma. ''Her tumor literally died in front of our eyes within half an hour,'' Lotze said. But there was a price to pay. ''She said it was the worst pain she had ever felt.'' Although the approach seemed successful -- not only the injected tumor but other tumors in the woman's body shrank -- it was ultimately ineffective in this case. The patient's cancer had spread to her brain and she died. In about half of all patients with cancer, tiny cells have started to spread, or metastasize, through the body by the time a tumor is removed surgically or destroyed by chemicals or radiation. These can seed other tumors. Doctors hope gene therapy can get to these tumors, too. When they get into the brain, however, the ''blood-brain barrier,'' which protects the brain from the inflammatory effects of the immune system, can block the proteins produced by the new genes. So Lotze's team is working to overcome this barrier, searching for cytokines that can get into the brain but will not cause potentially fatal swelling and inflammation. Lotze said scientists have identified 30 different cytokines. Particularly promising against tumors are interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-12, IL-18 and interferon-alfa. They are getting ready to test IL-4 in patients with glioma, a kind of brain tumor, and in children with tumors that have not responded to standard therapy. All are proving to be potent, and unpredictable. ''These are molecules that we thought would be kinder and gentler than the drugs we apply,'' Lotze said, but experience has shown otherwise. For instance, IL-18 ''makes all the tumors go away but all the animals die,'' he said ruefully. Dr. Savio Woo of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and his colleagues have tried a combined approach, using not only the cytokines but also ''co-factors'' that help the T-cells called in by the cytokines live longer. Tumors seem to secrete something -- scientists are not sure what yet -- that kills off the T-cells that come to attack them. The co-factors help the T-cells survive and proliferate. ''In mice we have completely eradicated tumors,'' Woo said. The co-factor they use is called 41BB, which Woo wants to try in combination with IL-12 in breast cancer patients