XALKORI NOW AVAILABLE IN CANADA KIRKLAND, QC, May 30, 2012 /CNW/ - Pfizer Canada is pleased to announce that XALKORI (crizotinib) is now available in Canada. Recently approved with conditions by Health Canada, XALKORI is an oral monotherapy for patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).1 XALKORI is Pfizer Canada's first example of personalized medicine for people with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer. Lung cancer has been one of the most difficult cancers to treat because symptoms typically do not appear until the disease has already reached an advanced stage.2 Even when symptoms appear, they are often mistaken for other health problems further delaying patients from receiving the care they may need.3 As a percentage of all cancer deaths, lung cancer kills more Canadians (27%) than breast cancer (7%), colorectal cancer (12%) and prostate cancer (5%).4 Approximately 70 Canadians are diagnosed with lung cancer every day and 55 die of lung cancer every day.5 "Little has changed in the way lung cancer has been treated in the past 40 years6," says Dr. Normand Blais, Hemato-Oncologist at CHUM - Hpital Notre-Dame in Montreal. "Previously lung cancer was considered a single disease. With the discovery … Continue reading →

A UC Irvine stem cell researcher won a $4.8-million grant to fund research toward a treatment for multiple sclerosis. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine awarded immunologist Thomas Lane, of the campus' Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, an Early Transitional Award last week to create a new line of neural stem cells to treat multiple sclerosis, according to a UCI press release. "I am delighted that [the California Institute] has chosen to support our efforts to advance a novel stem cell-based therapy for multiple sclerosis," Peter Donovan, director of the research center, said in the release. Lane is collaborating with Jeanne Loring, director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, and Claude Bernard, a multiple sclerosis researcher at Monash University in Australia. The research project "really embodies what [the California Institute] is all about, which is bringing science together to treat horrible diseases like multiple sclerosis," said Lane, who is a professor of molecular biology and biochemistry. Multiple sclerosis is a central nervous system disease that causes inflammation and a loss of myelin, a fatty tissue that insulates and protects nerve cells. The three are working on a stem cell … Continue reading →

Toni Clarke BOSTON Globe and Mail Update Published Friday, May. 18, 2012 12:38PM EDT Last updated Friday, May. 18, 2012 12:56PM EDT Osiris Therapeutics Inc. OSIR-Q said on Thursday that Canadian health regulators have approved its treatment for acute graft-versus host disease in children, making it the first stem cell drug to be approved for a systemic disease anywhere in the world. Osiris shares rose 14 per cent to $6.00 in extended trading after the news was announced. Graft versus host disease (GvHD) is a potentially deadly complication from a bone marrow transplant, when newly implanted cells attack the patient's body. Symptoms range from abdominal pain and skin rash to hair loss, hepatitis, lung and digestive tract disorders, jaundice and vomiting. The disease kills up to 80 per cent of children affected, Osiris said. To date there have been no approved treatments for the disease. Canadian authorities approved the therapy, Prochymal, for use in children who have failed to respond to steroids. Prochymal was approved with the condition that Osiris carry out further testing after it reaches the market. C. Randal Mills, the company's chief executive, said in an interview that could take three to four years. Some investment analysts … Continue reading →

OTTAWA Dr. Bernard Thebaud believes he can use the healing juices from stem cells the much ballyhooed future of modern medicine to rejuvenate the lungs of premature babies. The renowned neonatologist and scientist has proven his treatment works in rats in Edmonton, and in a baboon in San Antonio, Texas. Next, he will design clinical trials to test his pioneering therapy in babies in Ottawa. Dr. Thebaud is the latest recruit to the Sprott Centre for Stem Cell Research at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. Lured here from the University of Alberta, Dr. Thebaud hopes that within five years he can take his research from bench to bedside by launching the first clinical trials in newborns. He believes his therapy, derived from stem cells isolated from discarded umbilical cords, can help people suffering from other lung diseases, such as asthma and fibrosis. In an interview, the 47-year-old, who is originally from France, said Ottawa was the only city where he could do this research. To get this work into patients, I need to be around a critical mass of top stem cell biologists, he said. I dont want to be too clich, but if you are in the computer business … Continue reading →