Archive for 2006
November 14, 2006
Ludwig Fund Gives $120 Million for Cancer Research
New York, NY, Tues, Nov. 14, 2006 — A foundation created by American billionaire, Daniel K. Ludwig, will this year give six leading US institutions $20 million cash each, plus stock in a New York real estate holding company, to create Ludwig Centers. The $120 million plus gift, with further distributions from the Ludwig Fund over the next six years, should ensure that each Ludwig Center receives annual research funds of approximately $2 million in perpetuity.
September 10, 2006
Ethnicity and Cancer Susceptibility
(London) Researchers from the UCL Branch of the global Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) have uncovered how a genetic variation present in ethnic groups from around the equator may influence cancer susceptibility. The findings, published in Nature Genetics today, have implications for pharmacogenetics, the study of how inherited variations may affect drug metabolism and response, and present a target for future ‘designer’ cancer therapies.
September 8, 2006
Using nature’s most primitive anti-viral defence system to find new approaches to cancer research
(St Andrews & New York) — The humble fruit fly and a grant from the AICR - the Association for International Cancer Research - are helping Dr Buzz Baum of the UCL Branch of the global Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research use the tiny fruit fly, Drosophila, as a simple genetic system in which to identify genes that may impact on the spread of human cancer cells in one of the first studies of its kind.
September 7, 2006
Protein splicing upsets the DNA colinearity paradigm
(New York & Brussels) — Colinearity of DNA and protein sequences is thought to be a fundamental feature of the universal genetic code. However, a paper published today in Science by a team from the Brussels Branch of the global Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) and the Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC), shows that a protein can be rearranged so that it is no longer colinear with its encoding DNA.
September 5, 2006
Research Distinction for LICR Team
A research paper from the San Diego Branch’s Drs. Frank Furnari and Webster K. Cavenee has been selected as ‘Paper of the Week’ in The Journal of Biological Chemistry’s (JBC) September 8 issue. The journal, which is published by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), asks its Editorial Board members and Associate Editors to select papers that rank in the top 1% of reviewed papers for their significance and overall importance. This distinction is awarded to approximately 50-100 of the 6600 papers published each year in JBC.
August 1, 2006
No Cell Walls, No New Cancer Cells
(Uppsala) — Scientists at the LICR Uppsala Branch have found that SREBP1, a critical protein in the synthesis of lipids, is also necessary for the cell cycle. Inhibition of SREBP1 could be a new weapon in the cancer control arsenal.
July 24, 2006
Luisa L. Villa Appointed Director of the Ludwig Institute’s São Paulo Branch
(July 24, New York) — The global Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) has announced that Dr. Luisa L. Villa has been appointed Director of its Branch in São Paulo, Brazil. LICR has nine Branches in Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA.
June 5, 2006
Clinical Trial Confirms Novel EGFR Antibody Targets Tumors But Not Normal Tissues
Monday 5th June 2006, New York—The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) and Life Science Pharmaceuticals (LSP) today announced the results of the first clinical trial of monoclonal antibody (mAb) 806, which demonstrate that 806 specifically targets epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) on a wide range of tumor types but has no uptake by normal tissues. This result is markedly different to other mAbs, which target wild-type (wt) EGFR on normal tissues.
GSK Licenses Cancer Antigen Portfolio
Monday 5 June 2006, London, UK & New York, US—GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE and LSE: GSK) and the international Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) today announce they have entered into an agreement whereby GSK has licensed a substantial portfolio of tumor-specific antigens from LICR. The licensing agreement follows a long-standing collaboration between both parties on GSK’s investigational MAGE-A3 Antigen Specific Cancer Immunotherapeutic (ASCI) in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC).
May 18, 2006
LICR Research Pivotal in Approval of Cervical Cancer Vaccine
(New York, Brazil) — A US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Advisory Panel today voted unanimously that Merck has demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the cervical cancer vaccine, GardasilTM. The panel’s findings, which are typically followed by FDA approval, was predicated on immunogenicity data conducted largely by a team led by Dr. Luisa L. Villa, Acting Director of LICR’s Sao Paulo Branch. Dr. Villa was also the lead author of the first study reporting Gardasil’s efficacy in 2005.
May 11, 2006
C-myc Required by the Immune System
(Lausanne) — c-myc, a gene commonly involved in cancer onset, has been found to have a role in the immune system’s normal function according to a study published today in Blood. The surprising finding, by a Swiss research team led by investigators from the Lausanne Branch of the international Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR), showed that c-myc functions in the immune system’s ‘memory’ of previous infections.
April 30, 2006
New Spin-off Company, Vegenics Ltd
(Melbourne, New York, Helsinki) - The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (”LICR”) together with Circadian Technologies Limited (ASX: CIR) and Licentia Ltd, the commercial arm of the University of Helsinki, has announced the formation of a new company, Vegenics Ltd. Vegenics will develop and commercialise LICR and Licentia intellectual property and technology around the inhibition of two vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) and the VEGF receptor-3, molecules required for angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, which allow tumors to grow and cancer to spread. The cancer therapy, Avastin®, inhibits one member of the VEGF family and in 2005 earned Genentech ~US$1.1 billion.
April 12, 2006
Diabetes and Cancer: Alpha Connection
(London) - A study published by Nature today has defined the function of p110 alpha, the flag-ship molecule of the eight member PI3K family, which is one of the most frequently activated pathways in cancer. The function of p110 alpha in the body has eluded researchers for over a decade but a new approach to generating mouse models, has allowed investigators from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research’s (LICR) UCL Branch and the UCL Centre for Diabetes & Endocrinology to solve the mystery and yield important information for planned clinical trials with PI3K inhibitors.
March 27, 2006
Inducing Melanoma for Cancer Vaccine Development
(Brussels) — Cancer vaccines are being investigated in early-phase clinical trials around the world, with many of those trials recruiting patients with melanoma. Although tumor regressions have been seen in 10% to 20% of patients with metastatic melanoma, the great promise of cancer vaccines - controlling tumor growth and cancer spread without serious side-effects - remains as yet unrealized. This could be set to change with the publication of a new mouse model technology in Cancer Research, the journal of the American Association of Cancer Research, from a multi-national team led by investigators at the Brussels Branch of the global Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR).
January 27, 2006
Engineering Stem Cells For Parkinson’s Disease
While it seems that the whole world watches and waits for true human stem cells to be isolated, researchers at the Stockholm Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) and the Karolinska Institute have made a critical breakthrough in the genetic engineering of stem cells for transplantation therapy, according to a study published today in Cell.