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Exelixis Reports Encouraging Phase 1 Data To Be Presented At ASCO For XL228, A Multi-Targeted Inhibitor Of Key Cancer Signaling Kinases
Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) today reported encouraging data from an ongoing Phase 1 dose-escalation trial of XL228 in patients with advanced malignancies. XL228 is a small molecule inhibitor of insulin-like growth factor type 1 receptor (IGF1R), SRC, Aurora kinases, and fibroblast growth factor receptor types 1, 2, and 3 (FGFR1-3), which are associated with cancer cell proliferation, survival, and metastasis. The compound also inhibits BCR-ABL, including the T315I mutant form which is resistant to currently approved inhibitors. David Smith, MD, Professor of Medicine at the University of Michigan, an investigator on the Phase 1 trial, will present the data in an oral session (Abstract #3512) beginning at 4:15 p.m. local time on Saturday, May 30, 2009, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, which is being held May 29-June 2 in Orlando.

Obama Says He Is 'Absolutely Committed' To Health Reform
During a C-SPAN interview on Saturday, President Obama said he remains "absolutely committed" to overhauling the U.S. health care system despite obstacles that might surface during reform efforts, the Los Angeles Times reports (Dorning, Los Angeles Times, 5/24). He said he would work to keep "this process moving, ... focusing on how we reduce costs, how do we make sure families have some confidence that they can get health care when they need it and they won"t go bankrupt because their child gets sick" (Adams Otis, New York Post, 5/24).Obama said that his health care plan would provide "basic coverage" to all U.S. residents and retain patient choice of physicians and coverage. In addition, he said his plan would "invest more in prevention and wellness programs," as well as increase the use of electronic health records (Rushing, The Hill, 5/23).Obama also said that refusing to address the rising costs of Medicaid and Medicare now means the U.S. will face a bigger financial crisis in the future. He said overhauling health care would reduce costs and free up additional funding over the long term. This would make it easier to pay down the $11 trillion national debt and manage other financial issues, Obama said (New York Post, 5/24).Because such rising costs have shifted the political climate, Obama said that he believes "the stars may be aligned" for reform and that he can succeed where former President Clinton failed. Obama said, "The biggest change politically ... is that businesses now recognize that if we don"t get a handle on this stuff that they are going to continue to be operating at a competitive disadvantage with other countries." He added, "And so they anxiously seek serious reform" (Los Angeles Times, 5/24).
News of the day
Follow-Up Study Confirms Link Between Migraines And Reduced Breast Cancer Risk
The relationship between migraine headaches in women and a significant reduction in breast cancer risk has been confirmed in a follow-on study to landmark research published last year and conducted by scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The new study found a 26 percent reduced risk of breast cancer among both premenopausal and postmenopausal women with a clinical diagnosis of migraines.
Cardiovascular

Three Organizations Form Alliance To Address Global Malnutrition

"Three internationally known organizations based in St. Louis - the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children"s Hospital" - have entered into a partnership, known as the Global Harvest Alliance (GHA), which aims to "create inexpensive, nutritionally complete food to help the world"s hungry and undernourished," the AP/Google.com reports. Alliance researchers will focus on several of the most successful approaches used to combat malnutrition and attempt to further enrich foods already used to fight it. "In addition, the alliance aims to help testing and distribution of crops genetically modified to boost nutritional content. They hope to provide the crops cheaply to farmers to produce more nutritious foods," writes the AP/Google.com (Taylor, 7/29). Mark Manary, a professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine and a member of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, will lead GHA, according to a Washington University in St. Louis release. Manary"s "peanut butter-based ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition has consistently resulted in 90 percent recovery rates in research and operational projects," according to the release (7/27). According to KWMU, "Manary said malnutrition causes about half of all child deaths" (Wolf, 7/28) AP/Google.com reports that apart from addressing malnutrition, GHA will try to identify more sustainable solutions. "Prevention is always better than a cure," Manary said. Roger Beachy, president of Danforth, said, "This is not a magic bullet. It"s a part of the puzzle to helping people be healthier and have a better life." According to Larry Beach, a biotech scientist with USAID not directly involved with GHA, says there is some suspicion of biotechnology and "skepticism about providing more nutrition through food because that"s not the way it"s been done in the past." According to Beach, "[o]ne of the big problems in helping to make improvements in nutrition is the integration of what needs to be done," he said (7/29). This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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