Latest H. Michael Shepard Stories

BURLINGAME, Calif., June 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Igenica, Inc., a leading biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of first-in-class antibodies, today announced that it has raised $33 million in a Series C round of funding. The financing round was led by new investor Third Rock Ventures, with participation from existing investors The Column Group, Orbimed Advisors and 5AM Ventures. The closing of the Series C financing increases the total raised by the...

Using two drugs that inhibit the growth factor HER2 for preoperative treatment of early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer appears to have better results than treatment with a single agent. In a report in the January 17 issue of The Lancet, an international research team reports that a protocol adding lapatinib (Tykerb) to trastuzumab (Herceptin) was more effective than single-drug treatment with either drug in eliminating microscopic signs of cancer at the time the tumors were surgically...

Precisely quantifying the amount of three different HER growth proteins, along with several other proteins believed linked to breast cancer, did not predict a patient's outcome after treatment for HER2-Positive Breast Cancer with Herceptin, say Mayo Clinic researchers. HER2-positive breast cancer gets its name from a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 that promotes cancer cell growth. The finding, presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium,...

The first randomized trial to investigate the use of trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) – an antibody-guided drug – for the initial treatment of HER2- (human epidermal growth factor receptor-2) positive metastatic breast cancer has shown that it makes a significant difference to the time women live without their disease worsening. Dr Sara Hurvitz, one of the trial investigators, will tell the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress in Stockholm today (Sunday 25 September): "Our...

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif., Sept. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- NanoSmart(TM) Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical corporation developing novel cancer pharmaceuticals, has moved into its new corporate facility located in Laguna Hills, CA. The facility provides the administrative and laboratory work space necessary to begin formal development of its initial product pipeline. "Our new location gives us a physical presence in Orange County, California and allows us to move forward with our...

Innovative studies to prevent and slow metastatic breast cancer presented at the Era of Hope conferenceResearch into new methods to prevent and slow metastatic breast cancer will be presented this week at the Era of Hope conference, a scientific meeting hosted by the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP). Approximately 6 percent of women with breast cancer will have metastatic disease upon diagnosis, and up to 30 percent of node-negative and 70 percent of node-positive...

Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer may have an alternative therapy when they develop resistance to trastuzumab, also known as Herceptin, according to a laboratory finding published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.Jacek Capala, Ph.D., D.Sc., an investigator at the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues designed, produced and tested HER2-Affitoxin, a novel protein that combines HER2-specific affibody molecules and a modified...

SILVER SPRING, Md., June 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a new genetic test that will help health care professionals determine if women with breast cancer are HER2-positive and, therefore, candidates for Herceptin (trastuzumab), a commonly used breast cancer treatment. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090824/FDALOGO) The test, called Inform Dual ISH, allows for measurement of the number of copies of the HER2 gene in tumor...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that five patients have received therapy in a Phase I clinical study combining MM-111 with multiple standard treatment regimens for patients with advanced HER2 positive (HER2+) solid tumors. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100913/NE63515LOGO ) MM-111 is a bi-specific antibody that targets tumor cells over-expressing ErbB2/HER2. MM-111 is designed to inhibit the signaling between...

Among women with breast cancer, approximately 25% have a subtype that is characterized by high levels of expression of the protein HER2. HER2-positive breast cancer tends to be more aggressive than other breast cancer subtypes. Increased molecular understanding of why HER2-positive breast cancer is so aggressive could aid in the development of new therapeutics. By studying mouse models, a team of researchers, led by Lewis Chodosh, at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine,...