Provenge approval expected to rejuvenate cancer vaccine industry

MARKETWIRE:  The approval of Dendreon’s prostate cancer vaccine Provenge in April was a boon for a nascent cancer vaccine industry that had suffered several setbacks, and should lead to an influx of market opportunities and a surge in regulatory activity. READ MORE>

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Jury still out on how long immuno-therapeutic drugs like Provenge can prolong life

KANSASCITY.COM:  Researchers can cite anecdotes of cancer patients given months to live who have survived 15 years or longer after receiving vaccines, but so far conclusive evidence from large clinical trials is scant. READ MORE>

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Why has it taken so long for prostate cancer cell detector to arrive in Australasia?

PROSTABLOG NZ:  Australian news media are breathlessly reporting that a “new” prostate cancer diagnostic tool, the cell search machine, is being set up in their country for the first time (in Brisbane). READ MORE>

Should we be excited? Yes – that this technology – used in the US for more than five years – is finally appearing in our part of the world (although not yet in NZ).

My gripe is not about the news itself, but the way ill-informed journalists report such announcements, swallowing the official spin without question.

The real story lies in challenging governments over the delays that attach to such breakthroughs making their way Down Under.

Has anyone thought to ask NZ or Australian ministries of health how long it will be before Provenge (a new treatment for advanced prostate cancer) is available here?

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Prostate cancer drug Provenge finally starts earning money for its maker

WALL ST JOURNAL: New wonder drug for treating advanced prostate cancer, Provenge, is finally making money for its manufacturer, Dendreon Corp. READ MORE>

Since the $93,000 treatment was launched at the beginning of May, doctors have written 500 prescriptions for the treatment, the company disclosed.

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Provenge extends prostate patients’ lives about four months – at a cost of $130,000

ABC NEWS: The new US wonder drug for treating advanced prostate cancer – Provenge – extends life about four months – at a cost of $NZ130,000 ($US93,000).

The makers say it took 15 years to develop, at a cost of $US1.2 billion. READ MORE> and MORE>

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Year-long wait for Provenge in US hospitals

BLOOMBERG: Prostate cancer patients seeking Dendreon Corp’s new tumour-fighting vaccine, Provenge, face delays of a year or more as hospital waiting lists dwarf the company’s capacity to produce medicine. READ MORE>

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FDA approves Provenge – a breakthrough for men with advanced prostate cancer

PROSTABLOG NZ: At last – the FDA has approved Provenge, the new and highly promising treatment for men with advanced prostate cancer. READ MORE>

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Provenge treatment for advanced prostate cancer gets a step closer

NEW PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK: Long-awaited advanced prostate cancer drug Provenge is a step closer to being available with news the manufacturing company has completed its full application to the FDA. READ MORE>

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New immunotherapy treatment for advanced prostate cancer now expected to be available by mid-2010

WALL STREET JOURNAL: Dendreon Corp expects to file for marketing approval for advanced prostate cancer immunotherapy treatment Provenge in mid-November and hopes to get final FDA approval in the middle of next year. READ MORE>

NEW PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK: It is worth remembering that Provenge is not a “drug” in any normal sense of the term. READ MORE>

Provenge is strictly a form of individual cell-based immunotherapy in which cells from the patient’s own body are extracted, modified, and then re-infused back into the patient.

Every single dose of Provenge therefore has to be individually created.

PROSTABLOG NZ: The pressure on NZ’s drug approval organisation, Pharmac, to fast-track Provenge to Kiwi patients is shaping to be another Herceptin debate.

In that case, it seems only a very loud and effective campaign by sufferers succeeded in getting the expensive breast cancer treatment past Pharmac’s drug subsidisation process.

If Provenge has to be individually manufactured for each patient, you can bet the doses will cost thousands of dollars.

Pharmac may be spared the dilemma beyond next year, since it seems the manufacturer will not be able to fulfill the demand in the US, let alone other countries.

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Alternative business website purports to reveal scandal behind rival to Provenge’s eventual success

PROSTABLOG NZ: When global mainstream media reported the recent (partial) success of Dendreon drug company getting FDA approval for its new immunotherapy prostate cancer drug, Provenge, they didn’t mention how makers of a now-discredited rival drug may have delayed its path to chemist shops.

An “alternative” market investors’ website called Market Rap.com has just published a story by a former Wall Street Journal journalist that purports to reveal a murky background to what might be called – if it’s all, even partly, true – one of America’s biggest drug scandals.

It involves the US prostate Cancer Foundation (no relation to NZ’s) and its ubiquitous chairman, Michael Milken, who featured recently on the Larry King Live special about prostate cancer.

If you’ve got lots of time, READ MORE>

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