Repurposing Existing Medicines for New Indications

August 26, 2011 | by

Researchers have developed an innovative way to predict new uses for existing medicines. Using computers and genomic information, scientists at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, have established a method to identify FDA-approved drugs that may work against diseases they weren’t originally designed to combat. New research published in two articles in the August 17th online issue of Science Translational Medicine highlights two such repurposed drugs that may be used to treat inflammatory bowel disease and lung cancer [1-2].

Repurposing drugs

Biomarker Bulletin: August 23, 2011

August 23, 2011 | by

Biomarker Bulletin is an occasionally recurring update of news focused on biomarkers aggregated at BiomarkerCommons.org. Biomarkers are physical, functional or biochemical indicators of normal physiological or disease processes. The individualization of disease management — personalized medicine — is dependent on developing biomarkers that promote specific clinical domains, including early detection, risk, diagnosis, prognosis and predicted response to therapy.

Biomarker Commons

  • Biomarker Commons Named World Companion Diagnostics Summit Media Partner

    Diagnostics used to select patients for treatment with a particular therapeutic or determine what and/or how treatment will be administered have been termed companion diagnostics. Companion diagnostics hold great promise for personalized medicine. A companion diagnostic is a biomarker(s) used in a specific context that provides biological and/or clinical information that enables better decision making about the development and use of a potential therapeutic. Given the significance of companion diagnostics, I’m proud to announce Biomarker Commons’ first media partnership with the 4th World Companion Diagnostics Summit.

  • Personalized Medicine or Patient-centered Care?

    Personalized medicine is a term used in science and medicine that holds significant promise of administering medicines specifically tailored to an individual’s genome or metabolism. However, an editorial published yesterday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) suggests that the term creates an image for the public that is completely opposite of science and technology and sets up unrealistic expectations.

  • FDA, EMA Seek Input on Companion Diagnostics, Genomic Biomarkers

    Regulators in the U.S. and Europe have each posted requests for public comment on issues affecting the development of medicines by drug companies.

  • FDA Issues New Guidelines on Clinical and Nonclinical Genomic Biomarkers

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued new guidelines on biomarkers related to drug or biotechnology product development. The guidance was developed within the Efficacy Working Group of the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH).

  • Neuroimaging Identifies an Endophenotype and Candidate Biomarker for Autism

    In response to facial expression of emotional, a similar pattern of brain activity is observed in both people with autism and their unaffected siblings. Researchers from the University of Cambridge recently used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a specialized MRI scan used to measure the change in blood flow related to neural activity in the brain, to show that reduced activity in areas of the brain associated with empathy and face processing is a candidate biomarker for familial risk of autism. The findings were published online recently in the journal Translational Psychiatry.

Man’s Best Friend: a Canine Biosensor for Cancer?

August 19, 2011 | by

Man’s best friend may someday turn out to be a physician’s tool for the detection of several types of cancer.

NBC Nightly News aired an intriguing story last night about dogs who have the ability to detect ovarian cancer [1]. The story referenced a new study published in the European Respiratory Journal that focused on canine scent detection for the diagnosis of lung cancer [2].

New ALS Model is Based on Human Cells from Autopsied Tissue

August 16, 2011 | by

By isolating cells from patients’ spinal tissue within a few days after death, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a new model of the paralyzing disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). They found that during the disease, cells called astrocytes become toxic to nerve cells — a result previously found in animal models but not in humans. The new model could be used to investigate many more questions about ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Neurons

CVS Caremark MinuteClinic, Indiana University Health Announce Clinical Affiliation

August 12, 2011 | by

MinuteClinic, the retail healthcare division of CVS Caremark and Indiana University Health (IU Health), the largest and most comprehensive health system in Indiana, announced yesterday that they have entered into a clinical affiliation to enhance access to the high quality, affordable healthcare services they provide in communities throughout the state of Indiana [1]. The affiliation allows the organizations to work together in a more coordinated and integrated fashion to provide better care of patients with chronic diseases.

CVS Minute Clinic and IU Health