CSC news update 2010-06-13

For links to recent news items about CSC, visit this [Topsy] page. An example of a news item that has received attention in the past week:

Wellcome Trust - award to PTC Therapeutics, to combat drug-resistant cancers http://bit.ly/cJpUie. Hashtag: #cancerSC. Posted to Twitter on Wed Jun 09, 2010 via TweetDeck

Targeting cancer stem cells

Griffin Securities Announces Investment Opinion on Targeting Cancer Stem Cells, Yahoo Finance, October 9, 2008. First paragraph:

Griffin Securities (“Griffin”), a research-driven investment banking firm, has released an industry report on the subject of targeting cancer stem cells (CSCs). The stem cell hypothesis offers a rational approach to preventing, diagnosing, and treating malignant growth. Covered in the report are five classes of drugs nearing the Phase II clinical trial that provides human proof-of concept data, a crucial stage of development: Notch signaling, PI3k/akt pathway, immunotherapeutics, molecular chaperons, and hedgehog signaling.

See also: Firms Seek to Prove Cancer Stem Cell Hypothesis by Keith A Markey (scientific director at Griffin Securities), Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, Oct 15, 2009 (Vol 29, No 18).

Comments: Information can be found online about some of the drugs mentioned in the article by Keith A Markey. Two examples:

1. Notch signaling: OMP-21M18
   

   A humanized monoclonal antibody directed against the N-terminal epitope of Notch ligand DLL4 (delta-like 4) with potential antineoplastic activity. Anti-DLL4 monoclonal antibody OMP-21M18 binds to the membrane-binding portion of DLL4 and prevents its interaction with Notch-1 and Notch-4 receptors, thereby inhibiting Notch-mediated signaling and gene transcription, which may impede tumor angiogenesis. Activation of Notch receptors by DLL4 stimulates proteolytic cleavage of the Notch intracellular domain (NICD); after cleavage, NICD is translocated into the nucleus and mediates the transcriptional regulation of a variety of genes involved in vascular development. The expression of DLL4 is highly restricted to the vascular endothelium.

   One Phase 1 trial of OMP-21M18 [ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00744562].


2. Hedgehog signaling: IPI-926

   An orally bioavailable, cyclopamine-derived inhibitor of the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway with potential antineoplastic activity. Specifically, Hedgehog pathway inhibitor IPI-926 binds to and inhibits the cell membrane-spanning G-protein coupled receptor SMO, which may result in the suppression of Hh pathway signaling and a decrease in tumor cell proliferation and survival. SMO is activated upon binding of Hh ligand to the cell surface receptor Patched (PTCH); inappropriate activation of Hh signaling and uncontrolled cellular proliferation may be associated with SMO mutations. The Hh signaling pathway plays an important role in proliferation of neuronal precursor cells in the developing cerebellum and other tissues.

   One Phase 1 trial of IPI-926 [ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00761696].

A search of the Canadian Cancer Trials database indicated no trial sites, for either of these two particular trials, that are located in Canada.

Partnership to develop new colon cancer drugs

Ontario joins top researchers, Pfizer, to develop new colon cancer drugs by Amy Fuller, Canadian Press (via Winnipeg Free Press), July 15, 2009. (See also the same news release, via Yahoo News). First two paragraphs:

The fight against colon cancer got an infusion of funds Wednesday as the Ontario government and leading medical research centres joined with the world's largest pharmaceutical research company to develop new drugs.

Pfizer, a New York-based company with 1,400 employees across Canada, is partnering with the Ontario Cancer Institute and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research in a $6.9-million collaboration over three years.

See also: Pfizer Gives $5.4M for Ontario Cancer Research Project, GenomeWeb Daily News, July 16, 2009. [Free registration required][Twitter entry]. Excerpts:

Pfizer Global Research and Development will collaborate with two Ontario institutes to discover and validate targets that could be used to diagnose, predict, or treat colorectal cancer.

.....

Ben Neel, who is director of OCI and is serving as a principal investigator on the project, said in a statement that the collaboration will "join the world class genomics and informatics programs at OICR, cutting edge research in cancer stem cell biology and functional genomics at OCI/PMH and the world's largest pharmaceutical company in a concerted effort to bring new therapies to colon cancer patients worldwide."