Thank you to Jennifer Texada at MD Anderson for bringing this great cancer treatment discovery to my attention….
(Image courtesy Introgen Therapeutics)
A gene therapy invented at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is the first to succeed in a U.S. phase III clinical trial for cancer.  Introgen Therapeutics, Inc a spin out from MD Anderson, reported results of its phase III trial of Advexin, a modified adenovirus that expresses the tumor-suppressing gene p53, for end-stage head and neck cancer.
The p53 gene is inactivated in many types of cancer. Its normal role is to halt the division of a defective …read more

 
I’ve known UK diagnostics company Lab-21 for some years now. My previous company Opaldia and Lab-21 effectively ‘grew up’ together. 

Amgen Limited UK and Lab21 have announced their partnership to introduce a new genetic therapy test for advanced bowel cancer treatment. Under the terms of the agreement, Lab21 will provide a screening test to indicate which patients are likely to benefit from Amgen’s new drug for advanced bowel cancer Vectibix® (panitumumab).
It is the first time that the European Commission (EU) has licensed a bowel cancer product with the stipulation that a predictive test should be carried out.  This is the start of companion diagnostics. The …read more

Some patients, particularly young children, may be born with a genetic mutation which means they are at risk of hearing loss after taken antibiotics called aminoglycosides.  There is now a drive to consider screening patients for the genetic mutation known as m.1555A-G which is held in around 1 in 1,611 newborns in the USA, 1 in 206 newborns in New Zealand and 1 in 40,000 newborns in the UK.
Aminoglycosides are valuable antibiotics used for serious infections such as complicated urinary tract infections, TB and septicemia.  They are known to potentially cause damage to the ear – otoxicity. Individuals holding the mutation have an …read more