Abstract
A collection of recently published news items.
Takeda Oncology acquired ARIAD Pharmaceuticals for $5.2 billion. The Japanese company has been looking to replenish its oncology portfolio, with its patent on the multiple myeloma drug bortezomib (Velcade) expiring this year. The deal nets Takeda two key drugs: ponatinib (Iclusig), approved for certain leukemias; and brigatinib, an ALK inhibitor under FDA review for non–small cell lung cancer.
Francis Collins, MD, will continue to serve as the director of the NIH—at least temporarily. It remains unclear whether President Donald Trump will formally reappoint Collins or eventually name a successor.
A new analysis reveals that the risk of dying from cervical cancer is higher than previously thought (Cancer 2017 Jan 23 [Epub ahead of print]). Unlike prior estimates that included women who had had a hysterectomy and were therefore no longer at risk, this analysis included only women with a cervix.
The FDA greenlighted NantKwest's application for a first-in-human clinical trial evaluating genetically modified natural killer (NK) cells in patients with metastatic solid tumors. Researchers at NantKwest in Culver City, CA, have engineered these cells to express a variant of the CD16 receptor, as well as IL2; preclinically, adding these high-affinity NK cells to therapeutic antibodies boosted antitumor immune responses.
Electronic cigarettes, also called e-cigarettes, are attracting adolescents who might not otherwise have started using tobacco products, according to a recent study (Pediatrics 2017 Jan 23 [Epub ahead of print]). Some experts have thought that e-cigarettes might be responsible for a decline in cigarette smoking among youth, but this first national analysis found that combined e-cigarette and cigarette use among middle and high school students in 2014 was higher than total cigarette use in 2009.
Reuters reported that 22 of the world's largest drug companies will contribute seed funding of $50 million over the next 3 years to a World Bank project to fight cancer and other noncommunicable diseases in poor countries. Dubbed Access Accelerated, the initiative was announced in Davos, Switzerland, during the World Economic Forum.
For more news on cancer research, visit Cancer Discovery online at http://cancerdiscovery.aacrjournals.org/content/early/by/section.