February 2008 Issues

American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference (ISC) -- Quick Pulse

Summary: There were no blockbuster drug or device trials released at this year’s stroke meeting. Much of the “news” was “soft” and did not have implications for specific drugs or devices. However, the meeting did provide an opportunity to take a look at some of the technology and medications being used or considered in this field.

ASCO 2008 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium

Summary: Prostate cancer: Cougar Bioscience’s abiraterone looks very promising in prostate cancer. There are competitors, including Medivation’s MDV-3100, in this new class of drugs, but they are further behind. ♦ Oncologists have little interest in Nanosphere’s supersensitive PSA test, insisting that there is no real need to measure PSA at super low levels, even in men who have recently undergone a prostatectomy. ♦ Renal cell carcinoma: Genentech’s Avastin does not appear to be any more effective than Pfizer’s Sutent in RCC, and doctors are divided on how they would choose between the two if Avastin gains FDA approval in RCC. But new data suggest that the two agents will not be combined because of excessive toxicity, though sequential therapy may work. ♦ Heart failure with Sutent occurs almost twice as much in the real world as in clinical trials, so doctors should monitor for this, but experts did not recommend avoiding Sutent because of this. ♦ Testing: Nanosphere’s Verigene assay can detect super low levels of PSA , but oncologists don’t see the utility of this test.

Lab Automation 2008 -- Quick Pulse

Summary: More than 4,600 people from 40 countries attended the annual LabAutomation meeting, sponsored by the Association for Laboratory Automation ( ALA ). About half of these were scientists, researchers, and managers from a variety of laboratory settings – academia, big pharma, biotech, contract research organizations (CROs), hospital labs, and large commercial labs. Their time was split between highly technical lectures – often given or sponsored by industry and often barely more than sales pitches – and visiting some of the 242 companies on the exhibit floor. The meeting also was a way for exhibitors to network, since, in many cases, vendors in this space collaborate or are each other’s customers.