Mesothelioma Cure?
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- Created on Tuesday, 20 September 2011 14:14
A drug company based in Italy, MolMed S.p.A., is garnering attention due to the fact that it is claiming a drug it has under development may be the first drug able to “cure” patients of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a cancer associated with asbestos exposure, and as of today, there is no cure. There are numerous treatments for the disease, though some are more effective than others. These treatments, which can include chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, or a combination of the three, typically are palliative in that they are unable to prevent recurrence of the mesothelioma cancer. Though some patients may initially experience remission and may even spend a period of time with no detectable level of the disease, the prognosis for all mesothelioma patients is that the cancer will return.
The new drug from MolMed S.p.A, called NGR-hTNF, has been labeled as having curative effects in five different types of solid tumors, including mesothelioma. The drug works by actively disrupting the ability of the tumors to form blood vessel connections, thus cutting them off from nutrients and leading to their death. The drug is currently still undergoing clinical trials, though MolMed is attempting to recruit patients quickly for further clinical trials in effort to get the drug approved and to market. http://basicstory.com/
Currently, the drug has Orphan status in the United States. Orphan status means that the drug is a rare drug, which was purposely designed to treat a very rare disorder, or subset of a disorder. The Orphan Drug Act of 1963, passed in the United States, had the purpose of attempting to entice manufacturers to develop drugs for rare diseases. The drugs typically follow the same path to market, however certain factors may be lessened, in that it may not be possible to achieve the necessary number of patients needed for certain required clinical trials.
The drug is currently undergoing Phase II clinical trials, and there is no date yet known when, or if, the drug may make it to market. Though if the results of the initial tests hold over the course of the next clinical trials, it may be some long anticipated good news for the approximately 3,000 people each year in the United States who are diagnosed with mesothelioma.
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