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Biotech / Medical : IVAX Insider Trading -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: 5,17,37,5,101,... who wrote (241)	12/8/1997 3:54:00 AM
From: flickerful	Respond to of 756

did i hear you say we need MORE press releases about NON-IVAX TAXOL derivatives? (SEE BELOW) you make very sound points jackson, by the way, which raise frightening theories about the old brain trust at IVAX; or are they being VERY, VERY shrewd? if they are, i wish they would shame us for thinking otherwise with a sign, preferably a dollar sign. make that $$$$$$.... randy ps thank you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Breast Cancer Study Demonstrates Taxotere(R) Prolongs Survival Compared To Widely-Used Combination Therapy One-Year Survival is 45 Percent Better SAN ANTONIO, December 6, 1997 -- Treatment with the anticancer agent Taxotere(R) (docetaxel) significantly increased survival in women with metastatic (spreading) breast cancer, compared to treatment with a widely used chemotherapy combination, according to a study presented today at the 20th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Also, Taxotere as a single agent showed superior activity in reducing tumors and offered an improved time-to-progression of disease compared to the drug combination, mitomycin C and vinblastine. "For the first time in a randomized trial, a single agent has demonstrated superiority to a combination therapy in patients who previously failed on anthracycline chemotherapy," said Jean-Marc A. Nabholtz, M.D., chairman, Northern Alberta Breast Cancer Program and senior medical oncologist, Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and lead investigator of the study. "Furthermore, the superior overall survival, high response rates and time to progression are important, because until now, patients who failed on previous therapies had few effective treatment options." At one year, 45 percent more patients treated with Taxotere were alive, compared to those treated with mitomycin C and vinblastine. One-year survival among patients treated with Taxotere was 48 percent, compared to 33 percent for those treated with mitomycin C and vinblastine. The trend continued over time resulting in an 18-month survival rate of 32 percent for Taxotere patients, compared to 20 percent for mitomycin C and vinblastine patients; a 60 percent better rate for the Taxotere group. In this Phase III multicenter study, conducted in 17 countries, all 392 patients had either failed or relapsed on previous anthracycline therapy. Taxotere was administered to 203 patients, and 189 patients received mitomycin C and vinblastine. Anthracyclines are standard chemotherapeutic agents used to treat metastatic breast cancer. Patients treated with Taxotere had a significantly higher overall response rate than patients receiving mitomycin C and vinblastine (30 percent vs. 11.6 percent). Time-to-progression was also significantly longer with Taxotere (19 weeks for Taxotere and 11 weeks for the combination group). In clinical studies of cancer therapy, the overall response rate is defined as the partial response rate plus the complete response rate. A partial response is defined as a 50 percent or greater reduction in measurable tumor size, and a complete response is a complete disappearance of all clinical and radiological signs of cancer. According to Dr. Nabholtz, the safety profiles in both study arms were predictable. The most common side effect was neutropenia, a decrease in white blood cells. The combination of mitomycin C and vinblastine showed a higher incidence of thrombocytopenia (a decrease in the number of blood platelets), nausea, vomiting and constipation. A higher incidence of infections, stomatitis (inflammation of the mouth's mucous membranes), diarrhea, and fluid retention were seen with Taxotere. "Because the side effects were manageable among both treatment groups, the risk-to-benefit ratio clearly favors Taxotere over the combination of mitomycin C and vinblastine, which is considered to be a fairly tolerable regimen," said Dr. Nabholtz. Breast Cancer Breast cancer is abnormal cell growth originating in glandular breast tissue. If not diagnosed early, these cells invade surrounding tissue and spread (metastasize) through the blood and lymph node system. Common sites of breast cancer metastases include the bone, lungs, liver, brain and lymph nodes. Although many women are initially treated successfully, about 50 percent of breast cancer patients will eventually have a recurrence of this disease. Each year, there are 570,000 new cases of breast cancer reported worldwide. In the European community, the World Health Organization reported 157,000 new cases and 68,800 deaths in 1990, the last year for which data are available. In Canada, 18,400 new cases and 5,100 deaths are expected in 1997. SOURCE Alberta Cancer Board CONTACT: David Kirkham, of Alberta Cancer Board, 403-482-9362; or Miriam Ryan, UK, 011-44-171-733-6762 or Sonya de Long, Switzerland, 011-4141-759-0759, both for Alberta Cancer Board ------------------------------------------------------------------------ <Picture: PR Newswire Logo> (Today's News) (Company News On-Call) (Feature News) (Automotive) (Entertainment) (Health/Biotech)(Technology) (Financial) (Energy) (Washington and the World) (Money Talks) (About PRN)(Ask PRN) (Links) (PRN Events) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ c1997 PR Newswire. All rights reserved. Redistribution, retransmission, republication or commercial exploitation of the contents of this site are expressly prohibited without the written consent of PR Newswire. These pages have been optimized for Netscape v.2.0 or later