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Immune Checkpoint Blockade: The New Big Idea In Cancer

 
• By Shirley Haley

Biologics that target immune checkpoints co-opted by cancer resistance have been significantly de-risked by the success of Bristol’s immunotherapy Yervoy and the progress of its Phase III candidate nivolumab. With six companies now testing candidates in the clinic, the class promises to have a big impact on oncology over the next several years, with the possibility of a next-generation approval by 2015.

The radical proposition that cancer may not be as much a disease of genetic mutations as it is an immunological disorder captured the imagination of attendees who packed sessions devoted to the science of immune checkpoint blockade and the drugs being developed in that class at the recent American Association of Cancer Research annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Through that immunology lens, “immunotherapy then is a common denominator which takes advantage of the fact that the many mutations...

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More from Clinical Trials

Orphan Drug Trial Sponsors ‘Playing Catch-Up’ With Regulators – But Automation Can Help

 
• By Eliza Slawther

Clinical trial sponsors in the rare disease space face “big safety demands” from regulators, which can be challenging for those with limited resources. A CRO founder makes the case for “embedding automation” into the clinical trial process to keep pace with regulatory requirements.

Elegy For SACHRP: US HHS Research Protection Panel Tackled Tough Pediatric Trial Questions

 
• By Bridget Silverman

The termination of the HHS Secretary’s Committee on Human Research Protections closed an important forum for discussing pediatrics and pregnancy in clinical trial design, a former SACHRP chair said.

Future Of US FDA’s Diversity Action Plan Guidance ‘Up In The Air’ As Statutory Deadline Looms

 
• By Sue Sutter

A 26 June deadline looms for the final guidance even though a draft guidance was removed from the agency’s website to comply with President Trump’s gender ideology executive order. The concepts underpinning the guidance are still relevant, legal experts say.

Cell/Gene Therapy Cost Recovery Options Could Include Pre-Approval Public ‘Bridge’ Funding

 
• By Kate Rawson

Expanded funding for cost recovery could dovetail with FDA Commissioner Martin Makary’s idea for a “conditional approval” pathway based on a plausible mechanism of action.

More from R&D

Cell/Gene Therapy Cost Recovery Options Could Include Pre-Approval Public ‘Bridge’ Funding

 
• By Kate Rawson

Expanded funding for cost recovery could dovetail with FDA Commissioner Martin Makary’s idea for a “conditional approval” pathway based on a plausible mechanism of action.

UK MHRA: Bacteriophage Developers Wanted ‘More Clarity’ On UK Framework

 
• By Eliza Slawther

Julian Beach, interim executive director of healthcare quality and access at the UK drug regulator, the MHRA, tells the Pink Sheet how the agency is responding to increased efforts to develop bacteriophage therapies.

LDT Final Act? US FDA Will Not Appeal District Court Decision Vacating Final Rule

 
• By Brian Bossetta

The US FDA ended efforts to regulate lab-developed tests as medical devices for now when it did not appeal a decision from the Eastern District of Texas that tossed out the agency's final rule.