The Cancer Letter

The leading source for information on the issues that shape oncology since 1973

Drugs & Targets

Rhenium NanoLiposomes receives Fast Track Designation from FDA for glioblastoma treatment

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on email
Share on print
BYLINE
IN THIS ISSUE
DOWNLOAD PDFTABLE OF CONTENTS

FDA has granted Rhenium NanoLiposomes Fast Track Designation for the treatment of patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

Plus Therapeutics Inc. sponsors Rhenium NanoLiposomes (RNL). RNL previously received orphan drug designation from the FDA for RNL for the treatment of patients with glioblastoma.

“With this designation in hand, we intend to move into cohort six of the trial, one key step closer to bringing forth a novel therapy for these patients,” Marc Hedrick, president and chief executive officer of Plus Therapeutics said in a statement.

RNL is being evaluated in the NIH/NCI-supported, multi-center ReSPECT phase I dose-finding clinical trial (NCT01906385). The ReSPECT trials’ data and safety monitoring board approved the Plus Therapeutics to proceed to cohort six of the trial, which includes increasing both the drug volume and radiation dose to 8.8 milliliters (mL) and 22.3 millicuries (mCi), respectively.

RNL is designed to safely, effectively, and conveniently deliver a very high dose of radiation, of up to 25 times greater concentration than currently used external beam radiation therapy, directly into the brain tumor for maximum effect.

Table of Contents

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN

Conversation with The Cancer Letter

Lou Weisbach tells us about his plan to raise $750 billion for the American Center for Cures

For nearly 25 years, business executive Lou Weisbach and urologist Richard J. Boxer have argued that finding the money to finance the cures for devastating diseases is not as difficult as it appears. To start finding the cures, the U.S. Department of the Treasury needs to issue some bonds—$750 billion worth. Next, you hire CEOs—one...

By Otis W. Brawley and Paul Goldberg
ClinicalTrials & Tribulations

Optimizing dosing of expensive and toxic oncology drugs: Making America healthier

There is general agreement that the United States spends too much on health care, especially on pharmaceuticals.  But what we spend on drugs is not simply a function of price. If eggs double in price, people can simply cut the number of eggs they eat in half.  Simply stated, cost is the product of (price per unit times the number of units purchased). 
By Mark J. Ratain, David A. Hyman, Jill E. Feldman, Beth R. Jacobson and Allen S. Lichter
Guest Editorial

Federal funding cutbacks undermine advances in cancer research and treatment
What would Richard Nixon and Ted Kennedy think?

What did President Richard M. Nixon and Senator Edward M. Kennedy have in common? They each played a pivotal role in the passage of the National Cancer Act signed by Nixon on Dec. 23, 1971. The NCA established the National Cancer Program authorizing the initial investment in the NCI-designated Cancer Centers Program. 
By Donald L. "Skip" Trump and Eric T. Rosenthal
Sponsored

From “undruggable” target to clinical potential: The journey of AOH1996

When I first proposed targeting PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen) as a therapeutic approach, the response I got was: “No one will ever make a drug against PCNA. It’s undruggable.” The protein lacks enzymatic activity, has a disordered region, and binds to over 200 other proteins within the cell. From a traditional drug development perspective, these characteristics made PCNA an impossible target.
By Linda Malkas
Table of Contents

Never miss an issue!

Get alerts for our award-winning coverage in your inbox.

Login

Site license subscribers:
Log in with your IP | Register a sponsored account