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ACT Genomics Completes Acquisition of MC Diagnostics

indie
4 minutes

HONG KONG, Jul 6, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - ACT Genomics Co. Ltd. ("ACT Genomics" or "the Group") has completed the acquisition of MC Diagnostics Ltd. ("MCD"), a specialist molecular diagnostic company based in the United Kingdom, which marks the Group's entry into the European precision medicine market.MCD machine in operationFounded in 2006, MCD provides expertise in the automation of multiplexed molecular assays as well as custom-designed image analysis and interpretation software. MCD has designed, developed and manufactured an automated low density array platform ("ALDAS"), which is currently providing proven clinical diagnostic assays in the fields of HLA typing and blood group diagnostics. Revolutionary Breakthrough in Genechip TechnologyEffective and affordable cancer diagnostics testing tools with quick turnaround time and high sensitivity have always been sought after in the market. As a company at the forefront of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) molecular diagnostics in the field of oncology, ACT Genomics has partnered with MCD to develop fusion genechips on its ALDAS platform, which has recently yielded a notable breakthrough. Tests can now be easily an...

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Singapore researchers develop blood test for cancer treatment and detection

aseanpr
4 minutes

SINGAPORE - Researchers in Singapore have developed a blood test which will not only allow doctors to determine the effectiveness of cancer treatment within 24 hours, but also detect the disease in annual check-ups. Targeted treatment for cancer, such as immunotherapy, blocks the abnormal growth of cancerous cells by attacking specific molecules which instruct them to grow and spread. But, to evaluate its effectiveness, clinicians often have to rely on imaging techniques such as MRI and CT scans, which are costly, and can only be determined weeks after the treatment, said Assistant Professor Shao Huilin from the National University of Singapore's Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Institute for Health Innovation and Technology (iHealthtech). Alternatively, a tissue biopsy, which is an invasive procedure, is carried out, she said. Prof Shao and her team have now developed ExoScope, which is able to accurately detect cancer drug effectiveness within a day through the use of a platform to identify extracellular vesicles which circulate in the blood. Extracellular vesicles are secreted by cancer cells and carry a variety of "cargo" inherited from their parent cells, including...

JCN Newswire
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Eisai and National Cancer Center Commence Joint Research and Development Project

ruth
4 minutes

TOKYO, May 14, 2021 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Eisai Co., Ltd. and the National Cancer Center Japan announced today that both parties have entered into a joint research and development (R&D) agreement concerning "Basic research on the drug discovery and development to accelerate development of anticancer drugs in treatment of patients with rare cancers and refractory cancers", and that research activities have commenced. This R&D project is to be carried out with funding under the program "Cyclic Innovation for Clinical Empowerment (CiCLE)" established by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). Rare cancer is a disease for which it is difficult for pharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs solo due to the extremely small number of patients, and there are only a limited number of drugs for rare cancers that can be approved for manufacturing and marketing. Also, among certain types of cancer with a large number of patients, refractory cancers, for which standard treatment has not been established, face barriers to creating new drugs due to difficulty of research and development. In order to promptly deliver effective treatments to patients ...

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The business of ‘female tech’ is growing

elean
5 minutes

(NYTIMES) - Women represent half of the planet's population. Yet tech companies catering to their specific health needs represent a minute share of the global tech market. Tapping that spending power, a multitude of apps and tech companies have sprung up in the last decade to address women's needs, including tracking menstruation and fertility, and offering solutions for pregnancy, breastfeeding and menopause. Medical start-ups also have stepped in to prevent or manage serious conditions such as cancer. "The market potential is huge," said psychiatrist Michelle Tempest, a partner at the London-based healthcare consultancy Candesic. "There's definitely an increasing appetite for anything in the world which is technology, and a realisation that female consumer power has arrived - and that it's arrived in healthcare." She said one reason women-related needs had not been focused on in the field of technology was that life sciences research was overwhelmingly "tailored to the male body". In 1977, the US Food and Drug Administration excluded women of child-bearing age from taking part in drug trials. Since then, women have been underrepresented in drug trials, because of a belief that fl...

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Eisai: Application Submitted for Additional Indication of Anti Cancer Agent Lenvima in Combination With Keytruda as a Treatment for Advanced Uterine Body Cancer in Japan

ruth
2 minutes

TOKYO, Apr 23, 2021 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Eisai Co., Ltd. and MSD K.K., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A., (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada) announced today an application submission in Japan for the additional indication of Eisai's in-house discovered and developed multiple receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, LENVIMA (generic name: lenvatinib mesylate), in combination with Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A.'s KEYTRUDA (generic name: pembrolizumab) as a treatment for patients with advanced uterine body cancer.This application is based on the results of the pivotal Phase 3 Study 309/KEYNOTE-775 for the treatment of patients with advanced endometrial carcinoma (advanced uterine body cancer in Japan), following at least one prior platinum-based regimen, which were presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2021 Annual Meeting on Women's Cancer in March 2021. In this trial, LENVIMA plus KEYTRUDA demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in the primary endpoints of Progression-Free Survival (PFS) and Overall Survival (OS) as well as the secondary endpoint of Objec...

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Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Grants Orphan Drug Designation in Japan to Anti-Cancer Agent Lenvima (Lenvatinib) With Prospective Indication for Uterine Body Cancer

ruth
2 minutes

TOKYO, Mar 12, 2021 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Eisai Co., Ltd. announced today that it has received orphan drug designation for LENVIMA (generic name: lenvatinib mesylate), the orally available multiple receptor kinase inhibitor discovered by Eisai, with a prospective indication for uterine body cancer, by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW).In Japan, the estimated number of patients with uterine body cancer is approximately 30,000.1 It is estimated that in 2020, there were more than 17,000 new cases of uterine body cancer and more than 3,000 deaths from the disease.2 It is considered that more than 90% of uterine body cancers occur in the endometrium.3The pivotal Phase 3 Study 309/KEYNOTE-775 evaluated LENVIMA in combination with KEYTRUDA (generic name: pembrolizumab) in patients with advanced endometrial cancer (advanced uterine body cancer in Japan), following at least one prior platinum-based regimen in Japan, the United States, Europe and other countries. In this study, LENVIMA plus KEYTRUDA met its dual primary endpoints, overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), as well as its secondary efficacy endpoint of objective response rate (OR...

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NEC Joins the CONNECT Landmark Public-private Initiative for Precision Cancer Medicine

ruth
3 minutes

TOKYO, Mar 8, 2021 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) today announced that it has joined a landmark public-private initiative, the Norwegian Precision Cancer Medicine Implementation Consortium (CONNECT), a collaboration between 22 key public and private partners for promoting precision cancer medicine. CONNECT is one of four interconnected initiatives in Norway that will ensure infrastructure and collaboration on diagnostics, clinical trials, implementation of advanced precision medicine and use of health data, e.g., for health economics analysis. By joining the network of this Norwegian consortium and leveraging advanced real-world data, NEC hopes to reinforce and accelerate its personalized cancer immunotherapy activities. While more than 30,000 Norwegians are diagnosed with cancer every year, and the incidence is still increasing, more precise treatments can save lives. CONNECT is a new initiative aiming to ensure that precision medicine reaches the patients. "A serious cancer disease is an existential challenge for the individual. Cancer research gives hope. The pharmaceutical industry and the public health sector, clinicians and executive authorit...

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Eisai: MHLW Grants Orphan Drug Designation in Japan to Novel FGF Receptor Selective Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor E7090

ruth
5 minutes

TOKYO, Feb 22, 2021 - (JCN Newswire) - Eisai Co., Ltd. announced today that it has received orphan drug designation for a prospective indication for unresectable biliary tract cancer with FGFR2 gene fusion by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan (MHLW) for its in-house discovered fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor (FGFR1, FGFR2, FGFR3) selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor E7090, which is currently under development as an orally available novel anti-cancer agent.FGFRs with genetic aberrations are known to play an important role in the proliferation, survival and migration of cancer cells as well as tumor angiogenesis and drug resistance. These genetic aberrations in FGFRs have been observed in various types of cancers, therefore, there is growing interest in FGFRs as a promising target for cancer therapy. By selectively inhibiting FGFR1, 2 and 3, and blocking those signals, E7090 has the potential to become a new molecular targeted therapy for cancers with FGFR genetic aberrations.In Japan, a Phase I clinical trial of E7090 was conducted, and E7090 has been designated as the target drug for the SAKIGAKE Designation System of the MHLW for the treatment of unresectabl...

ACN Newswire
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Olympus Supports Dissemination of Endoscopic Procedures for Colorectal Cancer in Russia

indie
4 minutes

TOKYO, Feb 4, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - Olympus Corporation (Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO: Yasuo Takeuchi) announced today that it has been selected(1) by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) to implement the Japan-Russia Medical Cooperation Promotion Project in the field of endoscopy for the fiscal year ending March, 2021. Under the project, Olympus will promulgate gastrointestinal endoscopic/laparoscopic techniques in support of a five-year oncology plan launched by the Russian government in 2019.(2)As part of the project, Olympus will facilitate online training programs for gastrointestinal endoscopic/laparoscopic techniques taught by Japanese oncology specialists for Russian endoscopists and oncologists. The bilateral project is being carried out in cooperation with Russia's two premier cancer centers, the N. N. Blokhin Cancer Research Center and the P. Hertsen Moscow Oncology Research Institute branch of the Russian National Medical Research Radiological Centre (NMRRC) as well as Asian Medical Education and Training Support (AMETS).(3) As part of the project's initiatives, Olympus commits to disseminate Japan's world-leading tech...

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Broncus Holding Corporation Closed Series D Financing

indie
3 minutes

HONG KONG, Jan 28, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - Broncus Holding Corporation ("Broncus"), a global leader in diagnostic and therapeutic technology for lung diseases, announced today the closing of a Series D round of funding led by FountainVest Partners. Other investors include Exome Asset Management, Summer Capital, and Valliance Capital.Broncus is dedicated to the development of diagnostic and therapeutic technology for lung diseases with focus on the diagnosis of lung cancer and the treatment of emphysema. Owning more than 200 patents, Broncus has built a comprehensive and robust pipeline of patented technologies using a disciplined approach. The Bronchoscopic Trans-Parenchymal Nodule Access ("BTPNA") technology supporting the Archimedes System is able to access any part of the entire lung, reaching directly the lesions that are not connected to or adjacent to an airway. Leveraging its proprietary full-lung navigation technology, the company has developed an integrated interventional pulmonology platform encompassing navigation, diagnosis and treatment.The funds raised in this round will be used for the commercialization and development of technology across lung cancer, emphysema and ...

JCN Newswire
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Eisai to Present Abstracts on Lenvatinib at 2021 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium

ruth
3 minutes

TOKYO, Jan 12, 2021 - (JCN Newswire) - Eisai Co., Ltd. has announced that presentations on a series of abstracts highlighting updates on its in-house discovered lenvatinib mesylate (product name: LENVIMA, the orally available kinase inhibitor, "lenvatinib") will be given at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium Virtual Meeting, from January 15 to 17, 2021.At this symposium, regarding the lenvatinib monotherapy, the real-world effectiveness among unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients treated in United States clinical practices (Abstract No: 273), as well as the results of a post hoc analysis of patients with unresectable HCC who progressed to the Child-Pugh B stage in the Phase 3 REFLECT study (Abstract No: 298), will be presented.In addition, the data to be presented regarding the combination therapy of lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab (product name: KEYTRUDA), the anti-PD-1 therapy from Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A. (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada), are results from the biliary tract cancer cohort (Abstract No: 321), the colorectal cancer cohort (Abstract No: 94), and the gastric cancer cohort (Abstract No: 230) of the basket-type ...

SeaPRwire
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ESM Goh Chok Tong has cancer surgery, will undergo 4 weeks of radiotherapy

aseanpr
2 minutes

SINGAPORE - Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong will be undergoing four weeks of radiotherapy following the removal of a lump in his larynx. This is to ensure that all cancerous cells are killed off. "Just like the weather these days, it never rains but pours for me medically," the former prime minister wrote in his most recent post. "What a way to celebrate the festive season!" In the post, Mr Goh said the suspicious lump in his larynx was found to have cancerous squamous cells. Although scans found no trace of these cells in his neck or chest, he will be undergoing radiotherapy to make sure all cancerous cells are killed off. "I share my medical episodes to encourage everyone to go for regular or annual health screenings," Mr Goh said, encouraging people to seek medical help if they find that their voice has changed and they have a lump in their throat. The Health Ministry has a subsidised health screening programme, called Screen For Life, which heavily subsidises the cost of screening for ailments such as cervical, breast and colorectal cancers. "Ignorance, delay and denial may be costly," Mr Goh wrote. "Spot and treat the cancer early, the five-year survival rate is over 90...

SeaPRwire
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Parents collect PSLE results of son who died from cancer

aseanpr
5 minutes

SINGAPORE - In 2008, when he was but an eight-month-old baby, Raphael Lee was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma in his left forearm. He underwent treatment for this rare form of soft tissue cancer for a year and the disease went into remission. But in 2016, when Raphael was a Primary 2 pupil, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, or bone cancer. It started in his left arm again, and eventually spread to his right collarbone and both lungs. On Nov 13, the 12-year-old died due to complications from surgery. His parents, Mr William Lee, 47, and Mrs Winnie Lee, 45, collected his Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) results from Alexandra Primary School on his behalf on Wednesday (Nov 25). Raphael was their only child. Mr Lee, who works as a course manager with St John Singapore, said: "We expected his lifespan would be shortened, but we didn't know death would come so soon. "We told him that our focus was not on his studies but on his health. We would tell him 'Just do your best, there is no stress' but he wanted to prove himself. "As much as possible, he tried to complete his homework." The Catholic couple said that the Church of St. Bernadette, that they attend, as well as Raphael's...