Orphan Drug Designation May Lead to New Immunotherapy Treatment for Mesothelioma

Another pharmaceutical company is dedicating resources to help find an effective treatment for mesothelioma. Its efforts have led to an Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and comes on the heels of CRS-207 and tremelimumab, two other drugs developed to make a difference for mesothelioma patients, receiving the same designation from …

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) is breaking the mold with a new type of clinical trial, known as a “basket study.” Whereas traditional trials target a particular cancer, MSKCC is leading the way by offering clinical trials for anti-cancer drugs that focus on a specific biomarker or genetic mutation, regardless of the type of cancer. …

Chemotherapy is considered the most effective single modality for the treatment of mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused cancer. However, the cancer has proven to outlive the effects of the drugs, and the average prognosis for mesothelioma patients is typically less than one year. Now, oncologists are hailing the results of an immunotherapy clinical trial for melanoma as …